Sometimes There Isn't A Point
by TempestDash
Summary: Life just is.  There's isn't always a point to it.  That doesn't make it uninteresting.  [An experimental, serial fic spanning the time from Kim's college graduation to her death.  Concluded after 12 chapters.  To be continued in 'Full of Grace']
1. Good Behavior

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Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

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1. Good Behavior

"Kimberly Ann Possible," the voice said, succinctly and without fanfare. Despite that, the crowd that had gathered around the University football stadium stood and applauded with great fervor.

Kim blushed at how much louder the reaction was than it was for the girl whose name had just been called before her. The girl before her, a woman named Beth who had been a close friend of Kim's for many years, still just smiled and waved enthusiastically to her former roommate.

Swallowing her embarrassment, Kim stepped forward purposefully and stood before the pedestal that the Dean of Applied Arts and Sciences was calling names from. The woman there, an older professor who had taught Kim in many classes, smiled and handed the rolled diploma to her student.

"Good luck out there," she said earnestly and shook Kim's outstretched hand.

Kim smiled and nodded back. "Thank you so much," she said before doing as those had done before her and walked past to shake hands with the university's president. The crowds cheering continued long into the next person whose name had been called.

After the graduation ceremony had ended, Kim met with her friends and family who had come for the grand event.

"Great job, honey," Ms. Possible said, after she'd been able to hug her daughter. Her husband, Dr. Possible, and their other children, Jim and Tim, stood close nearby. "You finally did it."

"I don't know how 'finally' applies," said Kim with a smirk. "But I am glad to be done with it all. I'm just thankful Dean Withers let me do all the credit juggling I did to get my degree."

"Now we just have to get these two delinquents to pick a major and graduate," said Dr. Possible, gesturing to his sons. "Got any suggestions for them?"

"Dad!" the two brothers said in union then looked at one another, shocked.

"Haven't done that in a while," said Jim, grinning.

"Been too long," nodded Tim.

"There she is!" a voice called out from the crowd. Kim looked up to see a pack of people drawing closer. Ron, Monique, Beth, and Felix were running up to her. Or rolling, as Felix's case was.

"You trying to lose us in the commotion, girlfriend?" asked Monique with a hand to her hip. She kept her composure for six or seven microseconds. "Congratulations!" she cheered as she hugged her close friend.

"Hey, KP, excellent work with the not snagging the microphone stand on your pants and causing them to drop in front of thousands of strangers!" said Ron after Monique released her grip. "You know, like I did."

Kim laughed and pulled Ron into a tight hug. Her best friend had somehow never changed. "Thanks Ron," she said softly.

"Congratulations, KP," he said softly back, now holding her more firmly than before. "Only one more ceremony left," he continued.

Kim froze in shock for a second then relaxed when she remembered what he was talking about. Ron couldn't have been talking about what she had thought, it would have been ... well, she wasn't sure what it would have been, but definitely unexpected.

"But now," Ron said louder as he pulled away from Kim. "Its PAR-TAY time, baby!"

Kim laughed and agreed. She was greeted by the rest of her friends as well as many other people who had come to the university just to see 'The Graduation of Kim Possible.' It was a little eerie how over the years she'd developed a fan club, but at least they've always been manageable.

After leaving the University the whole gang (minus the fan club) went to the local Shastas where they'd reserved a dining hall. Appetizers circulated while people drank and told stories. People from all over Kim's life had shown up. People she'd helped. People she'd gone to school with. People who just knew her and had become friends through entirely normal, non-world saving, means. Stories involving Kim were definitely in the forefront, but some other old tales had been circulated.

Tales like when the Middleton High School caught fire and Jim and Tim put it out. Or the globe-trotting quest that her father and Ron went on to find an old flame of Nana's after Kim's grandmother had gotten sick with cancer. Or the day Monique got lost coming back from one of Kim's adventures and swore she'd never travel with the heroine again.

The memories in the hall ebbed and flowed with the meals and drinks, and almost seemed to coalesce for a while in the room and become tangible. After a while of contributing Kim stepped aside and just wrapped herself in the web of good and bad times being discussed. She noticed that even though she'd brought all these people together with her life, when she moved away, the web held together, strengthened through the interpersonal bonds formed between the people. The thought warmed her and she felt intoxicated by the legacy her life had already wrought.

"It's quite a sight, I'll agree," said a voice Kim never expected to hear again, breaking her free of the web of dreams. She looked to see a tall, statuesque woman with long dark hair, pale skin, and sharp, but deadly features. She was wearing a long black dress and matching lipstick and was leaning against the wall the door to the room was on. She just watched the people talk and mill, not noticing who'd just let themselves in.

Kim felt nervous but made her body outwardly relax to appear off-guard. She'd learned that trick from Yori once. "What are you doing here?"

The woman didn't look her way. "Oh, congratulations," she said. "I'd mean to open with that, but I saw you looking so proud at what you've made here, I couldn't help myself."

Kim repeated her question.

"Six years, two months served," said the woman. "Out of a possible thirty, I'd say 'good behavior' is underrated."

"Anxious to get back in?" asked Kim, reading for the assault.

"Nah," said the woman with a wave of her arm. "I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Then...?"

"Oh, you know, just catching up with people I'd left behind." The woman finally turned to face Kim and pointed her startlingly sparkling emerald eyes her way. She'd just served 6 years in prison, but she still had that intense fire behind her eyes.

"I'd say _you_ were left behind here," Kim said. "Not the other way around."

"Maybe so," shrugged the woman. "But it's a little strange to hear my name being said so many times at a party meant for you."

"You were more than a little trouble during High School," said Kim. "It's no more surprising than hearing Hitler's name at a party celebrating the end of World War II."

"Drawing analogies between me and _Hitler_?" the woman said, surprised. She laughed earnestly and was unable to stop for several moments. Wiping a tear from her eye she smiled at her once-nemesis. "Oh, that's a good one, Kimmie. I'm flattered I rank so high on your list of world-class villains."

"I didn't mean it like that," said Kim, annoyed.

"Of course you didn't," agreed the woman. "Still, I'll give you that we were once very closely connected, even if it was because we were staring across a battlefield." She ran a hand through her luxurious hair. "It was a connection that was rather abruptly severed when you nearly killed me by flinging me into a radio tower." Her voice took on only a slightly darker tone on the last few words.

"I didn't mean to try and kill you," Kim said. "So is that what this is? Back for revenge?"

"Nothing what you're thinking," said the woman. "As I said, I have no desire to do anything that could get me sent back to prison and killing you ranks pretty high on that list."

"Then what?"

"Torment."

Kim blinked. "What?"

"I'm back for torment, Kim." The woman finally moved from her place on the wall and walked over to sit next to Kim. The recent graduate couldn't help but tense up when she brushed past. She crossed her legs and continued. "You see, I've been tried, convicted, and served time for all my crimes now. Which essentially means I can walk free and you have no grounds to turn me over to the police anymore. This puts me in the remarkable situation of being able to do anything I want as long as I don't break the law."

Kim rolled her eyes. "How remarkable. Everyone this room can say the same thing."

"Very true," admitted the woman. "But none of those people over there make you as nervous and edgy as I do." She moved to bump Kim in the side with her elbow but the younger woman slid gracefully away and brought up an arm defensively. "See?" the elder woman smiled.

"What are you getting at, Shego?" snarled Kim.

"It means that I'll be able to drive you insane, just by being near to you all the time." Shego rested her arm on the wall and leaned her head against her palm. "And even though I'm confessing to you all this, you'll never convince yourself I'm telling the truth. So every time you see me, you'll think I'm about to do something illegal. So you'll have to be on edge, to catch me when it happens."

The woman's smile grew wide. "The question I ask you is this: How long can you be constantly ready for an attack before it breaks your mind?"

"Shego," warned Kim.

"Cheer up," said Shego playfully. She slid back over towards Kim. "Enjoy your party. You're going to see a lot of me in the future."

She got up, adjusted her dress, and then walked gracefully out of the room. Kim stared at her the whole time, wondering what kind of sick mind game had just begun.


	2. Inauguration

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Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

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2. Inauguration

"Kim?" whispered Ron over the radio. Kim looked momentarily up from her position as a 'black guard', or more precisely a hidden sniper, to where Ron was positioned on the east side of the steps. He was dressed in a simple black suit with black sunglasses and speaking softly into his collar. "Kim, go private."

Kim put her binoculars down and tapped her earpiece. "I'm private," she said quietly. "What is it, Ron?"

"I've got her just a few rows in from the pool," his voice came over the radio. "Dead center."

Kim picked up her binoculars again and looked into the crowed before the ceremony. Towards the back she saw her, the dark hair and pale complexion. Kim sighed, she always knew. _Always_ knew where Kim would be. She found it hard to believe she could have intricate knowledge of Global Justice agent assignments but not be doing anything illegal. She'd have to bring the matter up to Dr. Director.

"Just forget her, Ron," Kim finally said.

"Are you sure, KP?" came the reply. "It's getting pretty eerie how often we see her."

"If you think that's strange, try living my life for a while," Kim shook her head. "She moved into the apartment next to mine a few weeks ago. I see her every morning when I go jogging and every weekend when I go to the store."

"You never said anything about that!" came Ron's hastened reply.

"It's my problem, Ron, don't sweat it. I'll figure out how to deal with it." Kim forced herself to look away from Shego and scan the rest of the crowd.

"Agents!" a sudden loud voice came over the radio causing Kim to wince. "We've got confirmation of target."

Kim cursed under her breath for getting distracted and pulled out her small targeting display. A very basic graph appeared showing her location and the immediate area. A red dot appeared on the scan indicating the estimated location of the target according to whatever agent reported it.

Kim pointed her binoculars at the location indicated and looked closely. At first she saw nothing but typical spectators, then she caught a glimpse of a patch of brown fur scampering between legs. She pulled over her rifle and carefully pointed in the direction she saw the movement. With the active camouflage on the barrel, the local secret service agents wouldn't notice it sticking off from the roof until she fired, which her first shot had to count, but she had all the time in the world to aim.

Sighting with the video-scope on the top of the rifle, Kim zoomed way in to try and spot the target again. Switching to a themographic display, she watched the splotches of heat sway as they stood but kept her eyes trained on their legs. A moment later, she saw the form scampering about.

"I've got target," Kim reported, tapping her earpiece again. "Request to fire, direction 257 degrees, 48 degrees down."

A few moments of silence caused Kim to sweat trying to keep her weapon trained on the target.

"Request approved," a familiar voice said over the radio. Dr. Director liked to be the one to give the go-ahead for an operation.

Kim checked her aim one last time before holding he breath and squeezing the trigger.

A soft puff of air sounded and the rifle jerked. Otherwise the only other sign that Kim had fired was the active camouflage reasserting itself over the barrel. She peered through her scope again and saw the unmoving heat splotch in the crowd. Pressing a button on her scope she electronically marked the location, sending the position back to Global Justice.

"Operation successful," Kim reported. "Target and team extraction requested."

A few hours later, Kim and Ron were walking back into GJ headquarters with the transport team and a cage containing a rather ill-tempered monkey ninja. Ron shook his head.

"Always monkeys," he said sadly.

"Take it to containment," said Kim. "I'll give the report."

"My pleasure," said Ron sarcastically. The monkey screamed something suddenly but Ron ignored it and continued pushing the wheeled cart towards the observation wing.

Kim headed for the 'Big Office.'

The Big Office was named as such not because it was large. Quite the contrary, actually, it was only large enough for a few people plus the desk that was in it. No, the reason why it was called the Big Office was because it was Dr. Director's office, the head of the Midwest Offices of Global Justice.

Kim knocked once and was admitted. Dr. Director was seated at the virtual desk, a large table covered by a touch sensitive screen. As soon as Kim walked in, however, she banished what she was doing and looked up to face her agent. "Agent Possible," she said.

"Dr. Director," nodded Kim. "Just like we figured, there was another monkey ninja, this time at the Presidential Inauguration ceremony. Ron and I got it, though. He's dropping it off in at containment right now."

"Another one for our circus," commented Dr. Director. She tapped her desk top and a window of numbers appeared. "That makes, ten? Last six months alone."

"Monty is up to something," offered Kim. "Only the targets don't really point to anything. If it wasn't for your intel about the animal transports, we'd never get these guys in time."

"That's little more than luck," said the eye-patched woman behind the desk. "He's using channels we can trace. If he gets it in his mind to use less formal means of getting the monkeys around the world, then we'll be sitting with our pants down."

Kim hesitated. "Isn't that 'sitting ducks' or 'caught with our pants down'?"

"Our work requires a bit of improvisation."

"Ah."

"Regardless, I wanted to ask you something, Kim." The Director tapped her desk a few more times, summoning some documents. "Using what little evidence we've collected on the origin of these monkeys, we've isolated a small area in Brazil that we believe Monty is currently operating from. Probably well guarded, and the locals are... lets say they won't be cooperating with the local office."

"Well, we don't require authorization to do our work," said Kim.

"Exactly." Dr. Director enlarged a document that listed a few GJ agents and their jacket. "However, in order to keep this as quiet as possible, we'll be staffing the recon mission from here, the US office. I've picked a few agents out who will be good with the jungle ops."

Kim looked at the list but said nothing.

"I'd like you to lead this team, Kim."

Kim looked up at Dr. Director's eye. "Lead? I thought that I didn't have the necessary agent class to lead a combat team."

The Director sighed. "Kim, I think there's no use in being anything other than forward. I recommended you for GJ recruitment and it was an easy sell given your history. It was bureaucratic nonsense that restricted you from joining at any rank other than Cadet-Agent. Personally, I think you are clearly capable of much more. So, against procedure, I want you to lead this time and demonstrate to our... supporters that you're already operating at a much higher class."

Kim was stunned. "I'm... flattered. You don't have to do all this for me you know."

"On the contrary," objected Dr. Director. "I'm doing it less for you than for me."

"For... you...?"

"Kim, there are two things that have become apparent to me in recent years," Dr. Director began. "One is that my reputation as a professional has begun to be called into question. Following our last dealing with WEE and the wasted resources a few years back on the Ron Factor and Rufus Factor projects this is hardly a surprise." Kim opened her mouth to interrupt but the Director held up a hand, silencing her. "Two, is that I love each of my agents and our staff at GJ but there is nobody I feel comfortable leaving in charge following my own departure."

"Agent Du--" started Kim.

"Will is a fantastic agent," answered Dr. Director. "He knows protocol and procedure like the back of his hand. He has successfully executed on hundreds of assignments, both typical and sensitive. In any situation, I expect him to give the perfectly procedural and logical response." The woman breathed calmly. "But, I can't say that he'd necessarily do the _right_ thing.

"Kim, you are both compassionate as well as procedural and your incredibly close ties to those you've helped only further cement the idea in my head that you are the only one here at GJ who will live to serve the second half of our name, _Justice_. Rules and procedures are created to keep people who don't know better from doing wrong, but they are not the beginning and end of our duties as agents of justice. To truly do what's right, you need to understand what the rules and procedures are trying to protect."

Dr. Director leaned over her desk. "Do you understand, Kim? While I still have some power, I have to set you up on the path so that, years from now, when I'm removed, there is already no question in our supporter's heads who should take my place." She sighed. "It's an awful lot of responsibility, and it will require you to eventually step away from your 'hobby' in order to perform a more executive role here. But I think you'll never find a place you fit in better."

Kim stood silently, trying to quell the shakes in her stomach. In the year since she and Ron were inducted formally into GJ, she'd done a lot of somewhat simple work in boring places. In fact, the recent movements by Monkey Fist were the first in a six month dry spell where Kim had been spending more time answering calls on her website than working assignments for GJ. To walk away from the only really rewarding thing she'd been doing in the last year to focus on her work didn't seem like the best idea.

And yet, she _believed_ in GJ. It did do good things, sometimes rather amazingly good things, and if she could guide it towards doing more with its resources then would that be even more rewarding than occasionally helping people who find her website. Wouldn't it?

Kim composed herself. "There are things I'd change," she said. "Things I would have done differently than you in the past. Are you all right with that?"

Dr. Director smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Kim."


	3. Overtime

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Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

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3. Overtime

Ron sighed and sat down against a tree beside Kim, laying his modified tranquilizer weapon on his backpack and pulling out a canteen. Kim had her nose almost up against her virtual datapad. It was showing her the recent recon reports they'd downloaded at noon during their scheduled GJ contact. With so many people watching them, they couldn't afford to have the constant contact they'd planned on.

Ron sipped down some of his warm water and wiped his mouth on his hand, noticing the rough feeling as his wrist rubbed against his face. He half smiled. "Never thought I'd grow a beard," he said, nostalgically.

Kim looked up from the screen and smiled. Her hair had been cropped short early in their assignment but had started to grow out again such that she almost looked like a younger version of her mother. "You had to reach puberty at some point, Ron."

"Hey!" said Ron. "That wasn't what I meant."

Kim giggled. "I know." She put down the pad and took Ron's canteen for a swig. "Bleh, I can't even remember what filtered water tastes like."

"Probably less like moss and dried leaves," said Ron, replacing the canteen in his back. "Anything in there noteworthy?" He gestured towards the pad.

"Not really," said Kim. "We'll have to get close again tonight and try the transceiver one more time. Gotta get Will and the technicians a way into Monty's system. Otherwise just the standard verbage."

"'Good luck, thanks for sticking it out, we hope to have an extraction ready next month, you didn't have lives you wanted to get back to did you?'" mocked Ron.

Kim couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I would have liked something a little more personal since we're on month five of a three-week assignment. But I guess we're not the only ones under pressure."

"Yah, I'm sure they're feeling the heat while safely in the US in their air conditioned facility and water that doesn't taste like monkey ass," griped Ron. He folded his arms and stared up at the canopy. "You know, Yori and I got lost in the mountains by Yamanouchi once, spent almost a week surviving on snow and the bark of some editable tree."

Kim nodded. "I remember you telling me."

"The funny part was," continued Ron. "After the initial days of nervousness and fear of death passed, it really was quite a beautiful place. It wasn't until then that I mastered the spirit exercises Sensei had me on for so long." He laughed. "I've always wondered if we were really lost or Yori was just trying to get me to detach myself from my worries."

"Knowing Yori, I wouldn't put it past her."

Ron nodded. "Yeah..."

Kim looked at Ron, lost in the memories, and felt a little nostalgic herself. "I'm sorry it didn't work out between you two."

"Hmm?" he said. "Oh, don't be. It happens. Just like you and me, sometimes the desire is there but the ends never line up. I've never really blamed Yori for taking that trip to China where she met Lian and I don't blame you for breaking up with me. We fit together in a particular way and it's just not a romantic one."

"I know," said Kim. "Still, it would have been awfully convenient."

"Which is, of course, the primary reason two people should marry," joked Ron. The two of them laughed and, for a moment, forgot they were sitting in an enemy jungle on the wrong side of the world.

"Approaching!" came a voice entering the clearing Kim and Ron were sitting in. They looked up in time to see the recon team returning. They looked about as disheveled as Kim and Ron, all wearing the same black uniform that had been modified on the spot to become jungle camouflage.

They came in and collapsed on the floor, rubbing sore shoulders as they dropped their packs. Kim looked at the leader of the team of three. "Ames, what's the sitch?"

"We've been around the eastern perimeter and got pictures of the 1430 shipments out of the facility. Still no observable breach in security and they're expanding their active sensor area." The man, several years older than Kim with short dirty blonde hair and the same stubble/beard all the men in the team had, rubbed some of the dirt off his face and dumped a few drops of his canteen on his head. "They keep that up and we'll have to be outside of visual range to keep from being caught again."

"Seems like Monty is taking security more seriously after our last scuffle," commented Ron.

"Any indication on who arranged all this?" asked Kim, making notes on her datapad. "I really refuse to believe it's Monty. Any new cars in or out? Heliocopters?"

"Nothing today," shrugged Ames. "What did the afternoon report say?"

"Good luck, keep your head down, etc. etc..." said Ron.

"Feh, figures," grumbled Ames.

"The Director must be taking some heat on this," surmised Kim. "If she has more to tell us, we're going to have to set up another means of communicating that isn't monitored by the OLC." Kim rubbed her chin. "Edison, any chance we can tap into Monty's network?"

"We'd have to be on the property," said Agent Edison, shrugging. He was younger than Ames but still older than Kim, with longer brown hair and faint blue eyes. "They have a satellite uplink that I think they use for network traffic, and everything is hard wired into the building."

"What about the security sensors?"

"Not likely. It's all one-way traffic."

"It's not worth the risk," said Ames. "They all think we're dead right now, which is the best position to be in if we're going to return intel about who else is in on this operation and what they're doing. Going in there to use a computer isn't worth compromising their belief that we're gone."

Kim considered Ames' opinion for a moment. Ames was the oldest member of the team, and had the most field experiences in GJ. He would have been the commander of the operation if Kim hadn't been placed there by Dr. Director. He was incredibly bitter at first but after Kim saved his life during the first gorilla attack, he started to reign back his disrespect.

"You're right," nodded Kim, finally. "Still, we're going to be out here until the end of days if we don't make some move. Orders from GJ or not, we know what needs to be done. This trifecta of Monty, Senior, and DNAmy has to be stopped and five months out here of watching hasn't revealed any other players. It's probably safe to assume this is it."

"Then, what?" asked Ames. "Barge in, guns blazing, hoping we catch them all?"

"I was thinking something more subtle, actually," said Kim grinning. She pushed herself to her feet and held out her datapad. "Something like this," she said.

Ames stared at the screen and looked thoughtful. "Balls-on crazy," he announced firmly. "I like it."

"I thought you would," smiled Kim.

She began discussing her strategy, which, as Ames implied, caused most of the team to look at her as if she were crazy. But they were her team, and in the last five months she had more than proven she was worthy of their respect.

It was late into the night before they were prepared to make their strike. Kim and Ron crouched in a tree just outside the security perimeter watching the goings on of the complex through binoculars.

"Hey, KP," asked Ron while checking out the west side of the grounds.

"Hmm?" uttered Kim as her attention was directed towards the single road heading into the tall walls that marked the boundaries of the facility.

"Did Dr. Director give you this plan?"

Kim paused, then said, "Not really, no. I came up with it, like I said before."

Ron moved his view around to the south side of the grounds, the closest area to their position in the tree. "Then what made you decide to attack now?"

"Ron, I explained all this--" Kim lowered her binoculars to look at Ron.

"You told the team a story that would get them to move," he interrupted, continued to look out over the jungle. "But you didn't give them the whole story."

Kim frowned, but Ron continued. "I know when you're hiding something Kim, you're a terrible liar." He finally turned to her.

Kim wilted slightly in response but quickly regained her composure. "There were some signs," she explained. "That Betty and I decided on before we left, so that she could pass messages to me if our transmissions were ever believed to be non-secure. She sent me one today."

"What did she say?" asked Ron.

"It's not a complicated system, just some key words that were emphasized in the report. 'Hurry' 'time' 'short' 'action' 'immediate' and so forth." She repositioned herself and brought her binoculars to her face. "Enough to let me know we have to make our move now or we might not get a chance later. I was hoping we could get more detailed intel through a uplink but, as Edison said, not going to happen."

Ron nodded. "It must be tough," he said turning back to the facility.

"What must be?"

"Always being the leader."

Kim hesitated, then lowered her hands again. She picked up her radio. "Ames, check?"

"Check," said a voice back.

"Edison, Check?"

"Check-check," another voice returned.

"Bell, check?"

"Check, boss," the last voice reported.

"All set," Kim said back to Ron. "What do you think?"

"We'll either nab the trifecta or get killed." He paused. "I'd give even odds right now."

"Your support is unfaltering, Ron," Kim said dryly. She held her radio to her face. "Ames? Fire."

A sound like a small cannon echoed through the valley of the jungle, sending a whore of bats flying from the tree tops. Kim kept her binoculars trained on the small shed on the west side of the facility as it was suddenly impacted with something and began to catch fire. It was only a moment later when the guards at the facility noticed the flames and began rushing towards the fire.

"Cut it now, Edison," Kim calmly called into the radio.

A few moments later a voice said, "We're black."

"All right everyone, that's the word," Kim announced. "Move in!"

Clipping her radio to her belt Kim and Ron leapt to the ground, rolling with the fall, then breaking immediately into a run towards the facility. With the fire disrupting the power shed and the security grid cut by Edison, they would have a clear way right up to the walls. What happened after that was in the hands of god.

Despite running through the trees at the speed they were traveling, Kim and Ron were barely making a noise. Both had spent many years of their life training their bodies to be able to perfectly move their weight and travel without a sound. Kim had her acrobatics training and the martial arts she'd learned after getting into the hero-biz. Ron had his mystical monkey power and the intensive training provided by the Yamanouchi Ninja School after receiving the lotus blade. Neither was an expert the likes of which would make Yori, the agile ninja from Yamanouchi, look twice, but both knew well how to pass without a trace.

Which is why the sudden snap of a twig made Kim stop dead in her tracks.

"What is it, K--" said Ron as he came around.

"Shhh," silenced Kim with a hand up. She blinked to adjust her eyes to the darkness and peered out with all her senses. Smelling the drifting air, listening for any sound, feeling the movement around her, she took in the entire scene and separated each element in her mind.

Moving without a sound, she reached for her pistol, a specialized silenced tranquilizer she had her whole team equipped with. Raising it up she sweeped it across the jungle floor, training her eyes where it pointed. The pressure of time was acute in her mind, knowing that if she didn't move soon her team would be going in without her. Without coordination, the whole plan might as well be dead.

Kim raised her other hand behind her back and motioned to Ron. He nodded and then _leapt_, almost completely vanishing behind her. With careful steps, she moved silently backwards, listening for that sound, whatever sound was out of place, so she could target it.

After several excruciating moments, the scrape of something against bark caught Kim's attention and she whirled on her foot and pointed her gun in the direction it came from. Almost immediately Ron descended from the canopy and landed in the shadows exactly where she had pointed her weapon. A dull thud and a squawk from someone who definitely wasn't Ron gave Kim the reprieve to release her breath.

Kim moved quickly over to where Ron had landed and stared in shock.

Lying on the floor was Ron, his face being pushed into the dirt while his leg and arm were wrapped behind him and being held against his back by a woman with long black hair and a catsuit. She looked up from the pinned man and turned her emerald eyes to Kim.

"I'm a little rusty," Shego admitted. "But, seriously? Stoppable? Give me a break." She flicked her hair behind her shoulders as Kim raised her gun.

"Let him go, Shego," Kim said, seriously. Shego stepped back immediately and held up her hands.

"No need to get testy," the black-catsuited woman said. "You remember what I said: 'Nothing to get me arrested again.'"

Ron got back to his feet, looking a little embarrassed, and stepped beside Kim again. "Then what are you doing here? How much did Senior Senior Senior pay you?"

"Senior Senior Senior?" questioned Shego. "I'm not sure he knows I'm out of jail, let alone in South America. I'm just here looking for you."

Kim deflated and put a hand to her head. "Dammit, Shego, this torment thing is getting really--"

"Annoying?" asked Shego, eagerly.

Kim narrowed her eyes at the thief and said nothing.

"Kim," said Ron. "Are we going to capture her or not? We really need to join the rest of the team."

"Hah, like you could capture me," scoffed Shego.

"Leave her," Kim said, holstering her weapon again. "Lets move."

Kim and Ron started running again and were surprised only moments later to see Shego keeping pace. Kim nearly boiled over. "Shego! Get out of here!"

"No way," said Shego with a smile. "Besides, you're going to need me."

"I do not need you, I have a team that actually listens to orders."

"A team of what? Five?" asked Shego. "One more makes you sixteen percent more effective."

"You don't know the plan!" yelled Kim. They were nearing the walls and Kim chided herself for speaking so loudly.

"So just point me where to fight people and I'll do it."

"Why?" said Kim, quieter but complete exasperated. "Why are you HERE?"

Shego ran closer to Kim. "Because if you die, the torment will end."

Kim looked shocked at Shego.

"I'm going to make sure you live a very long life, Princess," she smiled back evilly.

Kim blanched, just before she heard the fire from the wall screaming down around them.


	4. Renewal

----------------

Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

----------------

4. Renewal

Kim looked at the documents, both physical and virtual, spread out across her desk and sighed. So much paperwork, so very, very little time. A small clock silently ticked on the wall, telling her that despite her best efforts, she couldn't simply will time to stop or move backwards.

"Director," a voice said from her doorway. Kim looked up across the 'Big Room' to see an agent standing there, looking casual. He was a well toned agent, tall, with short blonde hair, the hints of freckles, and wearing a Field Agent's uniform. He was smiling warmly as Kim's eyes reached his face.

"Ron," Kim said, suddenly feeling flushed. _He's back!_ her mind yelled, happily. She got up and ran to him, quickly pulling him into a warm hug. Ron chuckled as he held her tightly.

"Hiya, KP," said Ron softly. "Did you miss me?"

Kim laughed and kissed him on the check before letting him go. "You know I did. Everyone did! You've been gone for so long, I didn't think you'd ever be wearing that uniform again."

"Heh," laughed Ron. "It has been a few years, but it looks like it still fits."

"Hah, like you'd ever get out of shape," Kim flattered. "I'm sure you've been worked to death at Yamanouchi."

"It was a little tough," admitted Ron. "I certainly didn't expect to be gone longer than a few months when I left, but one thing led to another and... well, I'll explain it all in my field report."

"Field report?" asked Kim. "You know you don't have to file those for your work with Yamanouchi."

"Well, things have changed over there a little, and we should have a record of it all." He pulled a small datapad out of his pocket. "I've been taking notes over the last four years, it shouldn't take me too long."

Kim pushed the datapad down. "Later, now we've got to celebrate your return!"

Ron smiled uneasily. "Don't you have work to do?" He gestured to the desk filled with papers.

"Later, later," Kim dismissed. "That stack has been growing steadily since March, it'll still be there if I do it now or tomorrow."

"All right," Ron acquiesced. "Where to?"

"It's got to be 'Sharpes,'" Kim said with a grin. "Best Mexican bistro in the city. They have a gourmet version of a Naco that'll knock your socks off."

"Naco," echoed Ron with a goofy grin. "It's like paradise after years of suffering."

"I'm sure Japanese food wasn't that bad," said Kim as they left her office.

"KP, do you know how many different things live in the ocean?" asked Ron.

"Uh, no?"

"Well, I do, because I've been forced to eat them."

Kim laughed.

Less than an hour later, the gang had gathered. With Ron's years long departure, many of their friends came out of the woodwork to see their old friend. Monique, Felix and his wife Florence, Beth and her husband John, Tara and her husband Eric, and Zita all gathered around the table, with a face that Ron had not expected in a friendly atmosphere.

"So," he said awkwardly sitting down. Nobody else seemed to be wielded out by the new woman's presence, so he had to assume that it wasn't just this evening she'd been with them. "What do you do these days?"

The woman was smiling expectantly for several seconds then burst into laughed. "I'm totally weirding you out, aren't I?" Shego asked between fits of laughter.

"Well, yeah," Ron said as if it were obvious. "I mean, shouldn't I be? Something clearly happened while I was gone."

"That's an understatement," muttered Monique. "I don't suppose you have a week or so for the story?"

"Er, well, maybe a summary?" asked Ron.

"Quick and dirty of it is," said Shego. "I saved Mon's ass over here when, get this, _Frugal Lucre_ tried to run her stores out of business by selling knock-offs of her designs at half price."

"Frugal Lucre?" asked Ron. "Didn't we finish with him back in like, high school?"

"Apparently he had a plot to destroy all designer clothing stores with some sort of super-mechanical moth swarm or something," said Kim. "These things could eat a dress, then begin spitting out exact copies if given enough plastic to chomp on."

"Incredible," said Ron.

"There's a lot of stuff that happened in the middle that is bizarre and unusual," said Monique. "So we'll skip all that. Suffice to say, Frugal Lucre is back in jail and, it turns out that Shego has a sharp fashion eye."

"I design clothes for Mon's stores now," Shego said, smiling. Ron couldn't help but notice that he'd never seen her smile like that before. Almost like, every smile he's seen from her before was just an act and this was the genuine article. It was ... disturbing.

"I can't believe I thought being a thief was the way to make millions," Shego said, laughing. "You wouldn't believe how much people pay for clothes I design just because they carry Monique's signature on it."

"I bet I can't," said Ron, still feeling a little awkward but starting to get into the groove. "What about all that 'torment' stuff you used to go on about?"

Shego returned to her evil smile that Ron recognized. "Oh, I torment Kimmie in all new ways now." She poked Kim in the side with her elbow.

"She 'consults' with GJ every now and then," Kim admitted, reluctantly. "Mostly on Drakken's syndicate, but sometimes with Senior Senior Junior. When she's there, she makes a point of setting off every security alarm she can find."

"Bwhahahah!" laughed Shego and the whole table save Kim joined her. Kim smiled though, since even though Shego still called it her 'torment,' they had, over the years, oddly become friends.

As the evening progressed, Ron swapped stories of fighting ninja monkeys and training the youth of the Yamanouchi school for stories of Shego threatening fashion designers who criticized her work and Kim using the full force of GJ to get her brothers out of trouble with the Middleton police. They had been apart for four years, a mere instant in the grand scheme of things, but now it appeared as if they'd lived their whole lives in separate worlds.

As the night dragged on, more and more of the guests packed up and left, home bound because work the next morning or children to take care of. Stories of Felix's son were particularly intriguing to Ron who had never imagined his video game playing and zombie hating cohort would get married, let alone have children of his own. He felt proud of his friend but somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow Ron himself had failed.

Eventually only Ron, Shego and Kim were left at the large table. Food had come and gone. Drinks and dessert followed but were already just memories of the evening. Eventually, even Shego stood up.

"I'm outta here, princess," the emerald-eyed woman said, gathering her bag. "Don't forget to show up for work tomorrow and like, let the world be nuked or something."

"I'll try to remember that, Shego," Kim smiled.

Shego walk over to Ron and looked down at him with a raised brow.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I couldn't help but notice you came back alone," she said salaciously.

"Shego!" snapped Kim.

Shego playfully hit Ron in the shoulder. "See ya around, buffoon," she smiled.

Ron stared as Shego left the restaurant. He turned back to Kim. "Who _was_ that and why was she wearing Shego's skin?"

Kim laughed. "You remember when she saved us back in South America, right?"

"Of course," nodded Ron. "I also remember being completely skeptical up until she did it. She messed with you for years, Kim, now she's a close friend?"

"She's been more than amicable these last few years," Kim explained. "Not to mention she seems to love her job, which is definitely something I didn't expect."

Ron shrugged and looked Kim in the eyes. "I guess anything is possible over time."

"Yeah," Kim mused, staring back.

For several seconds they sat silently and still, transfixed in each other's gaze until Kim finally shook her head and looked away. "So, you finally dealt with Monty once and for all, then?" asked Kim, reddening.

"Uh, yeah," said Ron. "We fought his monkey ninjas for months before finally finding out where they came from. Apparently he had some help from a group of ex-Yamanouchi ninjas call the 'Shade.' Yori and I had the hardest time with them. Thankfully they were ex-Yamanouchi for a reason."

"What happened to them afterwards?" asked Kim.

"The ninjas are imprisoned in a specially designed facility built by the Japanese government with the assistance of Yori. It should be near impossible for them to get out, but just in case, Yori checks in every week to make sure nothing's wrong. As for Monty, well, I'm pretty positive he'll never be a threat again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Ron scratched the back of his head. "He was already a little crazy over monkey's to begin with. I think, over time, his pursuit of all things simian left him little ability to think about anything else. By the time we found him after dispensing with the monkey ninjas, he couldn't even talk anymore."

"What?" Kim boggled. "He became a monkey?"

"In essence, he _thinks_ he's a monkey, so much so that what was human in him is pretty much gone." Ron sighed. "He's in a mental facility in Kyoto right now, but the doctors there don't expect much."

"Incredible," nodded Kim.

"Anyway, that was almost a year ago." Ron gestured with his hands. "The war with the Shade and Monty's ninja's left Yamanouchi in a terrible state. I had to stick around to help Yori train up a new class of students to be able to defend the school in case another threat arose. With Sensei missing, Yori and I were the de facto masters of the school."

"That must have been great," said Kim. "Your own personal ninja school."

"Well, it's Sensei's school, we were just taking care of it," explained Ron. "I thought I might, after time, start to feel like it was ours, but... it just didn't work out."

"What happened?" asked Kim, furrowing her brow.

Ron just looked at her for a second. "What about you?" he suddenly said. "Is GJ really yours now that you're Director?"

"Of course not," said Kim with a wave. "It's a multinational espionage agency, every branch office has their own director and their own bureaucrats to listen to. Just one cog in a machine, you know how it goes."

"But you still love it?" questioned Ron.

"I can't just leave it," replied Kim. "If that's what you're asking."

"Not really," said Ron as he looked around the room.

Kim shook her head. "You're so different, Ron," she finally said.

"Different," Ron repeated.

"You're quiet," said Kim. "Contemplative. And calculating, like everything you say and do was thought out to an incredible extreme. So different from the 'anything goes' personality you seemed to have before."

"War is hell," recited Ron, looking back to Kim. "You know that."

"I do," she agreed. Again, they were caught staring at each other's faces.

"How long will you be working with GJ again?" asked Kim, unmoving. "So I can get all your access restored."

"I'm not going back."

Kim flinched. "You're not coming back to GJ?"

Ron shook his head. "I'm not going back to Yamanouchi again. I'm here to stay."

Kim was speechless. Ron just looked down. "I can't be away anymore," he continued. "Fighting the war over there was one thing, but as soon as that was over, I started to feel like... half of me just wasn't there. I couldn't be happy there, Kim. It wasn't fulfilling for me."

Ron looked back up. "I wasn't sure until I made it back to GJ, but, I need to be here, where you are. Fighting beside you." He moved forward and took Kim's hand. "I want..." he trailed off, struggling with the words. "I would like to know if you -- that, is, only if you're comfortable with it--"

"I missed you!" Kim blurted.

Ron blinked at the woman's sudden declaration. Kim seemed a little frazzled that she'd said something as well but decided to press on anyway. "I missed you so much more than I thought I would." She looked lost, all of a sudden. "Four years was... it was just too long. Until you were standing there, in my office, I hadn't realized that--" she stopped.

Ron was smiling warmly at her and tightly holding her hands, as if she were a kite threatening to fly away. It was comforting for some reason.

"Nothing in those four years that I felt was real," Kim finished.

Ron opened his mouth to speak but it was at least half a minute before any sound escaped. "I want to try again," he finally said.

"Me too," said Kim.

Looking into each others eyes, they saw the relief the other was feeling at what was just said and could finally start to relax. There was something else, though, that they'd caught a glimpse of in that shared stare: desire. Something that had never sparked between the two suddenly came alive with a frightening intensity as they gazed into each other.

Without thinking, they moved closer together. Slowly and slowly, their brains already having checked out, their bodies worked by instinct. Desire found equal desire and before they had an independent thought between them, their lips had touched.

And it was different than it had ever been before.


	5. Turnabout

----------------

Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

----------------

5. Turnabout

"I don't really want to see this right now," Kim said looking at her desk of document icons and the video window of Agent Edison in the corner.

"What? You want me to sit on this information?" asked Edison, puzzled.

"No!" Kim said quickly, then sighed. "I'm just complaining, that's all. Look, how likely is it that this mystery man here is from Drakken's Syndicate?"

"Everything matches the profile we've established for them," nodded the agent. "Unless someone is going to an awful lot of trouble to pretend they're one of the Syndicate's inner circle, it's probably Drakken. Not to mention we don't have many other hot targets with a class-S financial rating."

"Did you coordinate with Callison in Europe?"

"European office denies this transaction ever took place," grumbled Edison. "They're in on it, I'm sure."

"Hey!" snapped Kim. "That's another GJ branch, I won't have you spreading dissent until there is confirmed proof." She scowled at her desk.

"I-I'm sorry, Director," stammered Edison. "It was just... I'm confused about all the intel we've been receiving from Belgium and Denmark that the European branch insists never occurred." He hesitated then continued. "In my mind, either they're incompetent at reconnaissance or they're intentionally hiding it. I can't figure out why they would do the latter."

Kim stared grimly at the desk and opened one of the documents. "We need a mole, someone in the Syndicate to help us sort this out," she concluded.

"We've tried before--" started Edison.

"Yes, I know, I authorized the operation," nodded Kim. "There's just got to be a way to figure out what Drakken's doing. I mean, this purchase is for tons of depleted uranium. Is he building a really big gun or a really big bomb?"

"I'd go bomb, thinking Drakken," said Edison. "He doesn't have a very high self-preservation instinct when it comes to technology. But that's assuming that Drakken is still calling the shots. After that skirmish in Syria, he may not even be in charge anymore."

"That scares me even more," said Kim. "The worlds largest, most powerful crime syndicate, in the hands of someone potentially sane. At least Drakken tended to have his plans drift towards the inane or superfluous, radioactive flatware or something. If someone had his power, his technology, and two wits about him on how to use it all, we could have a serious threat on our hands."

"Which is why I don't see how the other GJ branches could be denying it," added Edison.

Kim sighed again. It seemed the older she got, the more time she spent sighing at inescapable situations. "Set up a call with Callison and Barclay from the North African branch, we need to straighten this out."

"Yes, Director," saluted Edison before his window went blank.

A knock came from her door and Kim pressed her finger in the corner of her desk to see who it was. She relaxed slightly and closed the windows on her desktop. "Come in!" she called.

"Hey, Princess," said Shego, striding in confidently. Kim admired the way nothing broke her stride anymore, and the way she perfectly fit her own designs. With Monique's stores now international and a veritable empire, the two of them spent less time in the stores and more time designing which showed in their more daring and complex clothing lines.

She did, however, curse the way Shego never seemed to get old. Despite being her elder by several years, Shego still had tight, flawless skin, and little more than a streak of gray in her hair while Kim herself had clearly taken a little more stressful life. Her crows feet continued to grow while her hair was starting to be peppered with gray. At least she still had her physique. From constant exercise to diet, she would never let her body act old, even if it started to appear that way.

"Hi Shego," said Kim getting up from her desk and walking over to give her guest a hug. Afterwards they sat down on a long leather couch in her office. "So, how's the clothing business?"

"Oh, you know," dismissed Shego. "We opened store #122 last week in Germany and got scheduled for six more in the next year. Even one in Hong Kong. Monique says we're reaching our limit unless we go public. I'm thinking we can hold off a little longer."

"Why not go public?" asked Kim. "You'd probably make a killing in the stock market."

"Maybe, but then it wouldn't be 'our' store anymore, it'd be a traded franchise." She leaned back on the couch. "When we do go public, I'll probably resign. Go back to doing designs for a smaller store."

"I wish I had an eye for that stuff," admitted Kim. "It would be a lot less stressful than this work."

"It's not all tea and crumpets, pumpkin," prodded Shego. "You still think that since I love it, it's not hard work don't you?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's hard work," said Kim. "I'm just skeptical about how much you do and how much Monique does."

"Well, how's that for your hello," said Shego, pretending to be insulted.

Kim laughed. "How's Monique doing?"

"Oh, you haven't heard, have you?" said Shego, a malicious look in her eye.

"What?"

"Charles Fabel," said the dark haired woman deliberately.

"The perfume designer?"

"The same."

"No way!" exclaimed Kim. "How?"

"They met at one of our fashion shows in Stockholm," said Shego. "They talked all through the show, through cocktails afterwards, into dinner, and after that, well..." she trailed off. "I couldn't say."

"Incredible," said Kim, lost in thought.

Shego smiled as she watched her friend think. Then noticed the glint on her hand.

"Hey, so, what did you call me out here for?" asked Shego. "You know my info on Drakken is fairly useless now since he's gone all 'SPECTRE' on you."

Kim returned to the present. "Actually," started Kim, then she stopped. "I have two things to ask you, and I have to admit, I'm not sure how you'll react to the second one."

"That's charming," Shego said flatly. "What's the first one?"

"Would you be a bridesmaid in my wedding?"

Shego froze. "What?" she finally managed. "Are you joking?"

"I'm totally serious," said Kim. "I want you to be up there with me when Ron and I get married. Despite our engendered youth, you've been a big part of my life and a good friend when Ron left. I think its right for you to be there."

Shego just blinked then began shaking her head. "To tell you the truth, I thought you wanted me to design a wedding dress," she admitted. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Of course I'm sure, that's why I asked!" Kim said, energetically.

"Well, fine, I will," Shego nodded.

"Great!" Kim hugged her again. "Thank you."

"Thank _you_, Kimmie," said Shego softly. "For thinking of me as a friend even when I was treating you like an enemy."

They broke their hug and Kim just smiled and nodded.

Shego felt herself blushing and quickly said, "So what was the other thing you wanted to ask?"

The smile fled from Kim's face. "Oh," she said suddenly and stood to walk closer to her desk. "Right, the other thing."

Shego frowned. "Kimmie? What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure how to ask this, but," she hesitated again.

"Come on, Princess, spit it out," said Shego, unsure of what to think of the great Kim Possible speechless.

"I need help with Drakken," she said finally.

"I'll give you what I can," shrugged Shego. "Like I said before, my info is way outta wack these days--"

"Not intelligence," Kim quickly said.

Shego frowned again. "If not intelligence, then...?"

"I need a mole in the Syndicate."

Shego blinked then felt her eyebrows furrow. "What are you asking me to do?"

"I need someone to infiltrate the Syndicate and report back on what's really going on inside of there." Kim said slowly. "Things have been, going badly, and I'm not sure what intel I can trust anymore. We could be on the brink of something... globally catastrophic and I'm currently in a position where I can't trust any of my sources." She looked painfully at Shego who was glaring back. "I need someone that I can trust."

Shego looked like she was boiling inside. "I don't work for you," she seethed.

"No, you don't," agreed Kim. "I can't order you to do anything. I'm just asking to help me before the world possibly comes to an end."

"Oh, no, you can't order me but threaten the fate of the world, meh, that's open game."

"Shego--" started Kim.

Shego stood and walked right up to the Director of Global Justice. "How dare you dangle friendship with me and then force me into something like this."

"I didn't plan it like--"

Shego slapped her across the face.

Kim stood silently, feeling the warmness and pain of the welt on her cheek. The pain drifted across the surface of her face as she stood, completely still. Shego stared at her for several more seconds before turning on her heel and storming out of the office.

Once she was gone Kim finally brought up a hand to rub her sore face.


	6. Judgement

----------------

Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

----------------

6. Judgment

"Thank you, Director," said Kim conciliatorily with a nod to the video holograph suspended atop her desk. The bust of James Tenor, the Director of GJ West Asia smiled back.

"No problem, Kim," he nodded. "I'm glad that we could clear up this misunderstanding before anything went wrong." He looked away for a moment then back. "I've got someone waiting in my office, I have to run. Let me know if I can help more."

"Thanks, Jim," said Kim, before ending the communication. The hologram vanished and Kim's desk returned to normal, displaying the last few communications she'd received from her 'mole.'

At the opposite side of the room, far away from the sensors that displayed the holographic view to the other speaker, a woman wearing a dark suit stepped over to the desk and sat at the chair opposite Kim.

"You see?" said Kim gesturing to where Director Tenor just was. "This goes to the top levels of each of the GJ branches in the area. They all deny it."

The woman in the suit put her head against her palm and stared at the desktop with her single eye. Her fingers thrummed against her cheekbone as she studied the reports. "This is worse than I thought when you called me," the dark haired woman known as Dr. Betty Director said.

"The part I can't figure out is," started Kim. "Why I haven't been approached? I mean, I've been here for, what? Over ten years now and never have I gotten a hint of anyone trying this crap around here. Meanwhile slowly, but surely, every other office in the last 2 years has started to feed me bogus intel."

"If the Syndicate is behind this it makes sense they would avoid you," said Betty. "Drakken knows you're too good to be bought, he may have done this so you're in the dark when he goes for a strike."

"Is the rest of GJ so easily bought?" asked Kim. "If not money, what does he have on them that he doesn't have on me?"

Betty was quiet for a few moments, seeming to contemplate her next words. "The same thing he never had on me when I was in charge, Kim," she finally said. Reaching over the desk, she called up an executive roster showing the directors of each of the GJ branch offices. Sorting the list, she showed it to Kim.

The current Director of GJ looked down at the list in confusion at first before she noticed how the listed was sorted by. At the bottom of the list was 'Kim Stoppable, _nee_ Possible - US Midwest Branch.'

"A family?" said Kim, almost ghost-like.

"I never married, Kim, and certainly don't have any children," Betty said. "Until recently, you've been the same. All the other people on this list have spouses and children, people that can be leveraged for..." she trailed off.

"Blackmail," Kim completed. Her whole paradigm suddenly shifted as she came to a realization. "If I have children... they'll be targets."

Betty looked down. "Yes." She glanced back up to see Kim's stoic face. "It was one aspect of taking this position that I... neglected to mention all those years I was championing your succession. I'm sorry."

Kim looked ill and swiveled her chair away from Betty. The former director of GJ shook her head. "I was hoping it would never come up, but this Syndicate business is much more sinister than I expected. It hardly bears any similarities to Dr. Drakken's former MO. I can't believe he's actually in charge of it."

"I don't think he is," said Kim quietly, still facing away from Betty. "My mole's intel says he never appears in person, ever. Even my mole hasn't caught a glimpse of him, although video communication was used at one point. Of course, we know Drakken has technology to spoof video communication."

"You think he's been replaced?" asked Betty. "Usurped by someone worse whose using his name to do business?"

"It's quite possible. All I can say is that the lower tiers of men IN the Syndicate still think Drakken is pulling the strings, albeit more competently than he ever did when I was still a teenager."

"Hmm," mused Betty. "Is there anything else your mole can tell us about what they've been planning the last two years?"

"Not much," admitted Kim, still facing away. "The details are kept quiet, but the opinion of the mole is that it's a tactical particle laser. There's a facility somewhere underground in Czechoslovakia that supposedly houses a grand energy weapon and talk of a satellite mirror launch having occurred last year makes it an easy conclusion to make." Kim sighed. "Details on the location of either one is still unknown."

"You know, the Syndicate is making us seem like amateurs," said Betty, a little irritated. "We used to have the best intelligence network in the world."

"Things change," Kim said, whimsically.

Betty stared at the back of the chair facing her. "Kim," she ventured. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, you know," stated Kim before trailing off. "Just--just thinking." She was silent for a few moments. "You remember what I said to you when you offered me the chance to be you someday?"

"You said there were things you would have done differently than me," Betty recited, as if it had been yesterday.

"I was going to change things," explained Kim. "I wanted to focus GJ more on helping the little guy, on making the world safe, not just from nuclear animalization, but from thieves and school bullies."

Betty snorted, "I doubt you'd ever have much luck with that last one."

"I couldn't do it though," continued Kim. "All the power and money in the world and I never had any time to look past this nonsense with the super villains and the corrupt companies and the crime syndicates. Everything I took this job to do... I failed at."

Betty shook her head. "Kim--"

"No!" said Kim, finally turning back to Betty. Her eyes were red and her makeup was streaked with tears. Betty gasped. "Don't even try and offer me platitudes! Felix and Florence's kids can't go trick or treating during Halloween because they may get kidnapped! Tara's husband has been on a plane that was almost hijacked by terrorists! Zita does contractor work for the Department of Welfare and sends me staggering numbers of known homeless and orphan children, which she assures me is a mere fraction of the actual population." Her breathing was ragged. "And I ... I can't..." she tried to speak but she couldn't find her breath.

"Kim!" Betty yelled and ran over to the gasping woman. Kim waved her away as she tried to steady herself and pull cool air into her lungs. She rested her forehead against her desk and pulled several deep breaths in before finally looking back up to Betty.

"Should I call the physician?" asked Dr. Director.

"No," Kim shook her head. "I'm just a little dizzy, I'll be fine in a second."

"Dizzy for no reason is definitely worth the Doc looking you over--"

"It's not for no reason," Kim interrupted, holding up a hand. "It's normal."

Betty frowned. "Normal for wha-" she stopped mid sentence however. She looked closer at Kim's face. Past the redness and makeup she could see the change. She looked at her hair then at her chest to confirm it.

"Oh god," she said, putting a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Kim, I never should have said anything. It might not be the reason the other branches have turned--"

"No," Kim said softly. "No, you were right to bring it up. I was a fool not to have at least considered the possibility before." She leaned back in her chair and turned her head to the side, closing her eyes. "It's a terrible world out there, Betty," she said slowly. "I didn't make it a shade better."

The former director put her hand on Kim's shoulder. "There's still time," she said.

Kim sighed heavily and nodded, forcing herself to sit up. "There is little time, however, to deal with this Syndicate issue." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and picked up a bag beside her desk. She pulled a white cloth and wiped around her eyes and cheeks before finally facing Betty again.

"I need your advice," Kim continued. "GJ was designed to operate like one unit, but I obviously can't trust the actions of the other branches right now." She tapped her desk and called up a document to appear on it. Twisting the corner, she angled it to face Betty. "I've been drafting a procedure for making us independent of the rest of GJ, I'd like you to look at."

"Independent?" asked Betty, reluctantly returning to the chair opposite the desk. "What do you mean?"

"I mean cutting off all contacts from the other branches and operating independently."

"You can't do that," said Betty instinctually.

"Why not?" asked Kim.

"Well, for one," she started then had to stop and think. "Money. Our support comes internationally. You go rogue from the other GJ Offices and you'll be cut off from our supply chains."

"How much support do we have domestically?" asked Kim.

"A substantial amount, but not enough to cover all our operating expenses," admitted Betty. "Not to mention, if the other branches decide your little rebellion is an act of villainy, you'll have to face opposition from the rest of GJ. It might look bad for our supporters and they could pull out."

"There has got to be a way for me to mobilize this office without attracting the attention of the rest of GJ," said Kim, exasperated. "All of our systems are linked, if I start disconnecting those lines, they'll realize what's going on."

Betty leaned on her palm again and thought for a minute. Kim crossed her arms and did the same.

Simultaneously they looked up. "Wade," they said in unison.

"He could set up a mock environment of this office's systems," said Betty.

"And we could slowly move the connections to the branch offices over to the mock environment," continued Kim.

"That, that..." Betty struggled for the term. "That Othonix system he built years back, the giant data routing software could act as a switchboard between the systems here and the mock ones, making sure the right information gets through to them."

"Right," nodded Kim. "I'll get him on a line right away." She stood to run out of the room when Betty suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Kim spun slightly and looked at her strangely.

"Why don't you," Betty gestured to her face. "Clean up a bit more, I'll get Will to contact Mr. Load."

Kim nodded slowly. "Right," she said. "You're right."

Betty smiled and let go of Kim's shoulder. Betty headed for the door.

"You know," Kim said before Dr. Director had a chance to leave. "It's funny how as soon as you walk in here, I feel like a little cadet again."

"You were never a cadet, Kim," said Betty. "Regardless of what agent class you held. Don't be intimidated by me or anyone."

"Thanks."

Betty moved to leave but turned back a second time. "Just curious, but, when are you due?"

Kim looked confused then realization dawned on her. "November."

"Heh," mused Dr. Director. "My birthday is in November."

"I didn't know that," said Kim.

"Let's make sure little Stoppable is born in a world free of Syndicate," Betty said. "It'll be a good start on your dreams."

The redhead nodded, "I'd like that."


	7. New World

----------------

Disney's Kim Possible in

**Sometimes There Isn't A Point**

By Adam Leigh

----------------

7. New World

Kim Stoppable held tightly onto the armrest of the car as it wheeled through the Middleton traffic. "Ahhhhhh!" she screamed suddenly, digging her nails into the fake leather.

"What what?" said Ron nervously. His eyes had locked open the minute his wife began contractions and hadn't closed since. "I'll go faster!"

"Don't," said Kim through gritted teeth. "Don't get us killed!"

"Hang on," he said as they took a sharp right turn that Kim swore made the car tip slightly onto two wheels. After the car settled back again he looked over at Kim for a second and noticed her staring daggers at him.

"We COULD have used the GJ chopper, you know!" yelled Kim as she brought her other hand up to her face and held the small radio against her ear. "I'm sorry," she said after it was hooked around the lobe of her ear. "What did you say?"

"No, no, I need to know," Kim said in response to something being uttered through the radio. "I don't care what condition I'm in, get me the intel I demanded hours ago! Did the operation succeed?"

The radio squawked something in her ear. "I don't care, just break the silence. I sure as hell will not hear about this on CNN before hearing it from you guys!"

Kim suddenly pulled the radio from her ear and screamed again.

"Almost there, KP!" Ron said reassuringly while his knuckles turned white from holding the steering wheel too tightly.

"Dammit, RON!" Kim yelled. "How many damn years after we are married before you stop calling me KP!"

"Sorry!" yelled Ron as he pulled into the hospital. Kim hooked her radio back on her ear before Ron could help her out of the car. "I want to hear updates every five minutes until you know what's happened!"

"Come on, Kim," Ron said as he helped her into a wheelchair. "Give them a break. There are more important things right now."

"No," insisted Kim as they entered the hospital. "There's nothing more important!"

"It's just a mission--"

"I have to know!" Kim yelled back then quieted her voice. "Does our daughter get born into a world where Syndicate exists, or someplace better?"

Ron's eyes widened then returned to normal. "I understand," he said softly, putting his hand in Kim's.

In return, she tried to crush it.

"AAAAH!" Kim yelled suddenly as pain wracked her body. Ron called out to a doctor and was rushed off to a changing room while a nurse wheeled Kim away. A few minutes later Ron was ushered back to a room where Kim was already propped up in a pair of stirrups and doing her Lamaze breathing.

Between breaths, Kim tossed Ron the slightly crumbled radio earpiece. "Put it on!" she ordered.

On a typical day, Ron could easily be taken by Kim, despite his years of ninja training. Even on a bad day, the best that Ron could do was hold his own with his wife in a sparring match. Right now, she was experiencing the worst pain in her life while simultaneous running a global espionage agency's office most important operation ever. Which probably meant, right now, in a fight, Kim wouldn't take Ron if he fought with her.

She would probably murder him.

"Yes, ma'am," Ron said hooking the device over his ear. "This is Agent Stoppable, serial 45728119, taking relay duty for Director Stoppable. My words have her authority right now. Confirm?"

Ron waited several seconds for the tracking agents to verify the biological signal being transmitted by the small radio with the serial number he just gave. "Confirmed," came the eventual reply.

"Continue the updates, Director Stoppable ordered," Ron said, and then deactivated his microphone so the entirety of GJ Midwest didn't have to hear his wife giving birth.

"Anything?" Kim said in another break of her breathing.

Ron listened to the report from the GJ operator. "Nothing yet." He went to hold her hand and she squeezed it tightly again. "I'll let you know when the word comes, just worry about the baby," Ron said using up every last bit of calm he had.

Kim looked at through her squinted eyes and nodded before screaming out again. "AAAAH!" She did her breathing again. "Someone tell her to either come out or hang back because this half-way crap is really pAAAIINNAAAAHHH!"

Ron felt Kim squeeze his fingers into mush and looked at their doctor.

"Contractions are close, it won't be long now," Doctor Easton said looking between Kim's legs. Ron just turned his attention back to his wife.

"You're doing great, Kimmie," he tried being reassuring.

"TELL ME YOU KNOW SOMETHING!" Kim yelled in response.

"Er, not yet," said Ron, admitted.

"AAHHH!"

"Okay Kim," Doctor Easton suddenly said. "I'm going to ask you to push."

Kim looked down to him with her eyes wide. "NO! Wait! I mean, not yet, we still don't kno...AAAAAHH!"

"I don't think she's waiting," Doctor Easton replied, then said something the nearby nurse.

"RON!" Kim yelled. "Make him stop!"

"I don't think he has much of a choice," Ron tried to justify. "It'll be okay, I'm sure the Op was successful."

"I have to know!" cried Kim before screaming in pain again.

"Kim if you don't work with me you're going to harm the baby," Doctor Easton suddenly said. "Now, on the next contraction you have to push!"

Kim looked sadly up at Ron who only nodded in response.

"YAAAAAAAH!"

"Good job, Kim! Keep it up, one more!"

"Ron!" Kim was crying through her clamped eyes. "AAAAHH!"

"Excellent! You're almost there!"

Kim opened her teary eyes to look at Ron and noticed him staring with his mouth open across Kim to the other side of the hospital room. Kim turned her head immediate and saw a large glass window looking out into the hall.

Standing in the hallway, covered in soot, dirt, and apparently bleeding from deep cuts across her torso, and staring into the birthing room with as much awe as fatigue, was a tall woman with long dark hair and emerald green eyes. Time seemed to slow as the couple stared at her and she stared back.

Then, slowly, in what seemed like forever, she rose her hand and made a fist, pressing it against the glass, her thumb sticking straight up. Her eyes softened and she smiled and nodded.

"AAAAH!" Kim screamed again.

Then, a moment later, another scream came except not from Kim.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

"That's it!" the doctor yelled. Ron and Kim looked over to see him cradling a nude, slimy, but somewhat beautiful baby girl in his arms. He wrapped her in a towel immediately and cleaned some of the slime off before brining her over to Kim and Ron.

"Congratulations," Doctor Easton said, placing the bundle in Kim's arms.

Kim smiled so wide it hurt, and she felt joy so incredible she couldn't contain it within herself and burst out crying. She cradled the girl close to her and felt Ron's warmth around her, one arm behind hers on the baby, and one arm around her head.

After admiring her baby, she began to feel fatigue drag on her and she had the incredible desire to close her eyes and take a nap. After all she'd been through; it even seemed like a good idea. She moved to have Ron hold the baby girl and after she triple checked he had a good grasp on her, she finally released her hold. Sleep was calling now, but she forced here eyes open long enough to look back at the window she'd seen Shego in.

But as she looked back, no one was there.

Then no one was anywhere as the blackness claimed her.


	8. Leave

8. Leave

Kim typed feverously into her datapad before the setting sun on the porch of her house. The scene was beautiful, but Kim had seen it a hundred times before so she was easily able to ignore it. Her muse, on the other hand, had bitten rather hard and her paper was finally flowing with ease. She'd jump up and down and throw a party if she wasn't afraid it would break her stride. So much time tinkering with this damn paper and finally she understood where it should have gone right from the start.

"What'cha doing, Mommy?" a young voice said from beside her. Kim paused and smiled as she looked at the girl standing beside her. "Writing again?"

Kim nodded. "Yeah, I've finally got the inspiration to finish my dissertation."

"What's a dissertation?" asked the little one.

"Well, it's a really big and long book that people who want to prove they're experts at something have to write. It takes a looooong time," Kim said. "But when you're done, everyone knows you're an expert. They'll call you 'doctor.'"

"Like Doctor PaiLing?"

Kim smiled. "Yes, she's an expert in pediatrics."

"Pedi...pediact... pediatrics?"

Kim ruffled the hair of her beautiful red-headed daughter. "You got it," she smiled.

"What does petat-- pediatrics mean?"

Kim put her datapad down on the bench and picked up the girl and rested her on her lap. "It means making little children better when they're sick."

"Am I sick?" The girl dressed in overalls tilted her head causing her little bob of hair to bounce playfully.

"No, sweetheart," said Kim. "But Daddy and I take you to see her just in case." Kim hugged her close. "You can't be too careful."

"Are you sick, mommy?"

Kim opened her mouth, but found she couldn't figure out what to say.

Thankfully Ron pulled up in the driveway.

"Daddy!" yelled the girl and hopped off her mother's lap to run to the car. When she got there, her tall blond father wearing a loosely fit white button down shirt and brown slacks picked her up and perched her on his shoulder. "Yay!" she cried.

"Hey there, Daddy," said Kim playfully as Ron stepped up onto the porch. He bent down and kissed his wife, their lips lingering just long enough that the little firecracker on his shoulder began pulling on his hair.

"A-yah!" he yelped.

"Daddy!" scolded the girl.

"What is it, Jules?" asked Ron before suddenly wincing. He'd done it again.

"Ju-lie," enunciated the redheaded youngster. "My name is Julie, not Jules."

"I remember," nodded Ron as the smaller girl released bunches of yellowish hair. Kim and Ron had gotten into the habit of referring to their daughter as Jules when she was just a year old. Then, when Julie became cognizant of her own name she began insisting that everyone pronounce it just right. Ron had ended up being the hardest to convert.

"I made a picture today," Julie announced. "It's really good!"

"It is, actually," chimed in Kim. "She captured all the evening colors just right in it."

"Mom!" insisted their daughter.

"Oops," said Kim, reddening. "Sorry."

"Why don't you show it to me," said Ron. "Before Mommy spoils it all."

"Okay!" The girl dashed off into the house.

Ron smiled and put his arm around his wife's waist. "So how were you today?"

Kim sighed and waved her datapad around. "I think I've had an inspiration, but I'm going to have to rewrite about ninety or so pages of my thesis. Other than that, Julie has been hopping around the house like mad today for some reason."

"Is it terrible threes or twos?" asked Ron.

"I think twos, but hyperactivity probably clocks in at three." They walked into the house after their daughter. "Actually she's not hyper, she's just excited I think. She really loves those crayons we got her. I think we may have an artist on our hands."

"An artist?" said Ron. "I don't have any of those genes, do you?"

"Not really," shrugged Kim. "But the old mailman did, I always meant to tell you, and I guess this is as good a time as any."

"Ha. Ha," intoned Ron.

"Look daddy!" said Julie as she ran over to the couple. They had paused in the living room, and Ron knelt to look closer at the large crayon colored drawing on oaktag paper.

"Wow," said Ron. "This is really good!" He carefully handled the drawing, looking at the colors. It was a sunset picture of their neighborhood. Kinda. The houses were curvy boxes and the grass seemed to spread out into the street, but the sky was perfect, even peppered with thin clouds condensing as they approached the horizon.

"You've done a great job, sweetie!" Ron complemented her and rustled her hair a bit. "What was your inspiration?"

"In...spiration?"

"Yeah, what were you thinking when you drew this?"

"I was thinking... about the sun!" announced the child.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Hmm, yes, I can see that. You really did a good job on the sun."

"Yay!"

Kim kneeled beside them. "Very good job, Julie," she said. "Why don't you get some of your pictures and we can show them to Zita when she shows up?"

"Okay!" said Julie.

Ron slapped himself on the forehead. "I forgot Zita was coming," he said slowly the pushed himself back onto his feet. "I better get cooking or we'll be eating leftover lasagna."

Kim laughed. "I imagine anything leftover from your cooking would be miles better than what I could make."

"Don't say that, you've made some really great dishes since Julie was born."

"I don't have quite so much on my mind these days," admitted Kim. "It's easier for me to concentrate. But still, I'm only following directions, you can _invent_."

"Well, I don't think there's enough time for that tonight." Ron headed towards the kitchen. "Something mundane will have to do."

"I'm sure we'll love it," smiled Kim. "Hey, can you watch Julie while you cook, I need to do my forms."

"Sure," Ron nodded. He grabbed a black apron off the wall and pulled it over his head. "Bring her crayons in here, I'd like to see her draw."

Kim nodded and walked off toward Julie's room. She found her daughter digging through piles of papers, all covered in crayon, for apparently the one picture she couldn't find. Kim smiled at her daughter's talent. Her pictures weren't much now, but if she kept that enthusiasm her whole life, she was sure there were gallery openings in her future.

Silently, Kim sighed in relief. She was never quite sure how her own parents managed it, but if Julie had decided to follow in her and Ron's footsteps, Kim didn't think she'd ever sleep at night. Julie was her treasure, precious beyond belief, if anyone even thought mean things at her, Kim wasn't sure she could keep herself calm.

A few minutes later, Kim had settled Julie down by the kitchen table and had retired to their practice room. It used to be a garage, when Kim and Ron had first been given the house, but the large, empty room was perfectly sized to be a practice room. They had laid down padded flooring and finished the walls and ceiling simply, with a few full height mirrors. A handful of serene pictures and scriptures completed the practice hall, and Kim had spent at least an hour in there every day since.

Standing the in the center of the room, Kim slowly let out her breath, emptying her lungs entirely, before slowly sucking in a full breath of fresh air. As she breathed she slowed her heart rate, calming her body in a completely relaxed state. Once calmed, she reached out with her senses, trying to feel the movement of the air and muffled sounds from the kitchen. She felt the cool touch of the padded floor beneath her bare feet and could smell the faint whispers of the cleaning agent they used to wipe the floors.

Slowly, but gracefully, Kim extended her arms, maintaining perfect balance, and moved them into the first form, letting her knees bend and move, to keep steady. She had her eyes closed, but kept her head pointed at a fixed point, her closed eyes locked onto an imaginary person in the room. Then, when she had fully realized the first form, she immediately began moving into the second, pushing her body, as if weightless, around the room as she changed positions.

Save for the soft sounds of her feet touching the ground and her loose clothes rubbing against themselves, the room was silent as Kim kept her pace through the forms, flowing quickly from one stance to the next. As her body moved through instinct, Kim opened her mind to the room, feeling every brush of air and hearing every sound, feeling each touch, and smelling each scent as she began to sweat. As time passed, her speed increased, but never into a frenzy. Like a ballet, the key to her movements was grace first, then form, and finally speed.

Minutes stretched into an hour, and Kim began to feel her heart pounding in her ears, making it hard to ignore and concentrate on her environment. She was moving at an incredible pace now, her movements now keeping her more and more off the ground with various jumps and launches from the walls. Decades ago she remembered watching Bonnie Rockwaller dance ballet at school and being impressed at her grace, given her crass personality. Now, Kim had a different understanding. Bonnie had managed to perfect the mechanics of her body, had learned the forms and transitions, but it was just the start. True grace included the mind and spirit as well as the body. If Kim could only have seen herself, twenty years later, she would have understood better.

And maybe even averted some of the damage she'd later done to herself.

The air changed suddenly in the room and Kim recognized the presence of another at the door. The waft of perfume ruled out Ron and Julie so Kim assumed that she'd run long on her forms and it was already past 8pm. Switching her next form for a closer, she slowed herself to a gradual stop and opened her eyes.

"Zita," she said, breathing hard. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time."

"It's okay," said Zita Flores. The tanned, dark haired woman stood leaning against the door frame with a hand casually on her hip. She was wearing a stylish red and brown top and a dark skirt. Kim couldn't remember a time when Zita didn't dress to kill and today was not an exception. "I've always been amazed at that. I forget that some of the things I see in video games are reality for you."

Kim laughed, embarrassed. "I'm not that great."

"You should see yourself from my perspective," said Zita. "Considering what you went through, I don't think there is a person alive that wouldn't be picking their jaw off the floor seeing what I just saw."

Kim just smiled. "Thanks."

Zita turned to head back into the house as Kim approached. "Although," she said over her shoulder. "You'd probably want to wear your Gi a little tighter at those speeds. Unless you intended to flash me."

Kim froze, and looked down. Her top was indeed loose, but wasn't showing anything. She gripped the edges and pulled them tightly around herself just in case. "I -- I did not!" Kim stammered when she looked up.

Zita laughed and disappeared through the doorway.

Once cleaned up and dressed properly again, Kim returned to the kitchen. Julie was sitting at the table eating some steamed vegetables and cut up chicken while Ron and Zita were next to her laughing as they talked over a couple glasses of wine.

"Looks like someone started without us," said Kim walking over to Ron and Julie, kissing the latter on the head while she ate.

"She was hungry," explained Ron. "And she probably wouldn't have appreciated what I cooked anyway." He looked at Julie. "I'll get you to eat my cooking yet, Jules."

"Dad!"

"I mean, Julie."

Zita and Kim laughed.

"Well, are you ladies ready for tonight's only slightly less than masterful cooking?" asked Ron.

"Well, that ranks higher than most gourmet restaurants for me," said Zita.

"Me too," agreed Kim.

Ron opened the oven and pulled out the plated dishes he'd already prepared. Three patters came out and Kim's mouth watered at the sight. Fried calamari in a tangy tomato sauce served over a bed of spiced pasta tossed with peppers, onions, garlic, and zucchini, was the first dish. This was followed by broiled salmon and, finally, a dish of steamed vegetables with lemon.

It was arguable whether Zita or Kim ate more, but both were stuffed with Ron's cooking by the end of the hour.

"Fantastic," said Zita. "Why don't you work for a restaurant, Ron? Hell, why don't--"

"Hey!" Kim said softly but forcefully and motioned toward Julie, who was now listening to TV and drawing something.

"Ah, sorry," said Zita holding up a hand. She cleared her throat. "I mean, why don't you open a restaurant? I'm sure Monique will front the investment."

"I dunno," admitted Ron. "I guess because then it'll become work, and you don't really want your hobbies to become work 'cause then they stop being fun."

"It's a shame," said Zita. "But then again, that means only we get to taste your marvelous cuisine, so it makes us special."

"There you go," said Ron.

"What about you, Kim?" asked Zita. "Any plans?"

"I'm working on my dissertation right now, actually," said Kim.

"Dissertation?" asked Zita. "A doctorate? Since when?"

"A while ago, actually. Before Julie was born I did the classes, I've been delinquent in my thesis however. I got an extension from the university, and I've been working on it for a few months now."

"Wow, finally joining the family tradition?" laughed Zita. "Although only one, you need at least one more not to look bad in front of your brothers."

"It's not really a competition, so I'm glad my brothers have done so well for themselves." Kim smiled and glanced over at Julie. "Anyway, I hope to have that wrapped up in another couple months and then probably defend in December."

"After that, then?"

Kim opened her mouth to respond then looked lost for a second. A moment later she shrugged. "We'll see."

"Ah," said Zita, and turned the conversation back to Ron.

They talked for several hours more before Zita had to leave, by which point Julie had long since fallen asleep and left Kim to cradle her gently. As she was leaving, Zita put her hand on Kim's shoulder.

"You should come out to the city sometime," Zita said. "We'll have lunch and I'll show you some great shopping."

"Okay, I'll definitely consider it," Kim said, nodding.

Zita leaned in closer. "Seriously, Kim," she said softly. "Get out a bit, you can even bring Julie along."

"I get it," laughed Kim. "I'll give you a call."

Zita said nothing for a second then backed up and smiled. "Thanks for the wonderful dinner, Ron."

"My pleasure," said Ron, offering Zita her coat. She turned and took a step back towards Ron so he could hang it off her shoulders. Confidently, she strode out the front door, stopping once for a wave, and then got in her car and drove away.

Afterwards, Kim put Julie to bed and then got into bed with Ron who was already lying down, staring at the ceiling, looking contemplative.

"That's never a good sign," Kim poked, as she slipped under the sheets beside her husband. "Lost in thought?"

"Yeah," nodded Ron, absently. He turned and looked at her. "I'm not trying to force you into anything, but, is there a reason you're not making any effort to come back to work?"

"Don't start," Kim looked away, looking irritated. "I got the hint from Zita."

"It's not just Zita," started Ron. "I'm... there's a lot of people who are ... understandably curious."

Kim continued staring away from Ron. "They're not... are they prepared to remove me?"

"No," Ron shook his head and moved to touch his wife's arm. "For everything you've done for GJ ... for the world, they'll take care of you forever. Just like they're doing for Betty."

"Betty's retired," pointed out Kim.

"That's right, which is kinda why people want to know about you." Ron stroked her arm. "I'm not sure what to tell them. Are you retired, or still on leave?"

Kim frowned and closed her eyes. "I'm not sure."

"What's keeping you from coming back?" asked Ron. "Are you afraid ... it'll happen again?"

"It's definitely a risk," said Kim. "You know the doctors said that it wasn't Jules that caused the arrhythmia. And that if I hadn't been at the hospital already I -- I probably would have died." Kim turned back to face Ron. "What would you have done if I died? What would have happened to Jules?"

"Kim..." started Ron. "You can't think--"

"I have to think!" snapped Kim. "If I go back to that, you could lose me. If not to my heart condition then you'll lose me to something else. I can't look away once I see it, Ron. If I step into that office again and there's trouble out there, I have to try and fix it. And then the stress will build again and I'll lose the balance I've worked so hard to find."

Kim was shaking and Ron wrapped his arms around her. "That's okay," he said. "Then don't go back, just formally retire, let Jennifer take over. She'll make sure GJ continues to provide for you and you can Betty can form a rotary club or something."

"I--I..." Kim struggled. "I can't, Ron."

"Why not?" asked Ron.

"Because Jules deserves better." Kim began to cry. "Because she deserves to grow up in a world better than the one we grew up in. I know there are things wrong in the world. We live in a practical fortress, guarded by GJ, monitored by GJ, in a community of ex-GJ agents. How can I retire knowing that all that is necessary just to keep people from taking shots at the Director of GJ? I can't leave! But I don't know how to get myself to go back. I... just don't know what to do."

Kim gripped Ron's nightshirt and pulled it towards her as Ron tightened his hold around her. "Shh," sounded Ron as Kim cried. "It's okay."

Kim tried to control herself, she already felt herself losing her balance, but the tears kept coming. She'd been holding it back for three years and it wasn't something that was going ton stop after ten seconds.

"It's okay," repeated Ron.

But it wasn't.


	9. Scraps

9. Scraps

The call came unexpectedly, one random Tuesday.

"I have a Ms. Monique Montague at the gate," the GJ security guard said at the entrance to Kim and Ron's development. "She's on your allow list, but after 9pm I have to call."

"I know, Bill," said Kim. "You can let her through." She hung up the phone.

"Who is it?" asked Ron as he was playing with Julie in the family room.

"Monique," said Kim. "Did she tell you she was coming?"

Ron shook his head. "I hadn't heard anything."

"Maybe she was in the area," mused Kim. "I can't imagine she'd fly out here from California and forget to call in advance."

"She does have her own jet these days," pointed out Ron.

"That's just tabloid gossip," Kim shook her head. Ron stared back at her earnestly. "Wait, really?"

"GJ recently started keeping tabs on anyone with an easy way out of the country," said Ron. "Her name was on the list."

"Wow," said Kim, then turned to head towards the door when she heard knocking.

Opening the door, Kim stared at the disheveled Monique standing in front her. She was wearing a trendy coat, but was gripping it closed with one hand and looking over her shoulder nervously. Kim frowned immediately.

"Kim!" Mon yelled as soon as she looked up. She pressed forward before Kim could say anything, moving into the house and closing the door behind her.

"Mon, what's going on?" asked Kim.

"Is your house monitored by GJ in any way?" Monique asked instead.

"Um," said Kim, looking over her shoulder towards the doorway to the family room. "The outside is, but I don't think the inside is bugged or anything." Kim tried to catch Mon's eyes but the dark haired girl kept glancing around frantically. "Tell me what's wrong!"

Monique groaned. "I guess I gotta risk it," she said, before reaching into her coat and pulling out a wrinkled yellow envelope. She shoved it into Kim's hands.

"What's going on?" asked Ron, walking in with Julie in his hands.

Kim opened the envelope and looked inside. Inside she saw a plastic bag with something black in it, a sheet of paper, and a smaller, sealed envelope. "I'm not sure," said Kim pulling out the plastic bag and looking at the long black hair trapped inside. "Mon? Where did you get this?" She pulled out the piece of paper.

"It came to me via courier this morning," Monique replied, staring at Ron and Julie. "My god, is that your daughter?"

"Yes," nodded Ron. "This is Julie. I forgot we haven't seen you in a while."

"Way too long," said Monique, melancholy. "Hi, Julie."

"Hallo," said the little girl. "Who're you?"

"I'm Monique," said Mon with a smile. "I'm ... I was a good friend of your mother's."

"Hi Monique," said the girl, who then turned to look up at Ron. "Daddy, I'm tired."

Ron chuckled. "All right, let's take you to bed." He started heading towards Julie's bedroom.

"Mon," said Kim looking at the letter with wide eyes. "Is this for real?"

"I don't know," admitted Monique. "But I couldn't risk it not being real."

Kim absently put a hand on Monique's arm and began ushering her to the kitchen table. "Come on, why don't you sit down and I'll try to get Wade on the Kimmunicator."

Monique nodded silently and sat down.

It took several minutes of hunting and searching before Kim and Ron could locate the now ancient device. Eventually they came across the device in an old box labeled 'Memories.' It was oddly dramatic, considering the circumstances.

"Kim," said Wade with a wide smile through the Kimmunicator. "I've been waiting for this day."

"It's night, Wade," said Kim. "No time, I need you to scan some hair for me and do a DNA match on it."

"Okay, easy," said Wade. The Kimmunicator ejected a dish-like apparatus. "You know the drill."

Kim opened the bag and dropped a few of the hairs on the tray which promptly retracted into the device. It hummed and rumbled slightly as it scanned the specimen provided before finally going quiet.

"Okay, I have the data," nodded Wade. "It'll take a few minutes to search my... data... base... Hang on. This is Shego's hair. Not more than a few weeks old." Wade looked a little confused for a few moments then looked back at the camera up at Kim. "What's going on?"

Kim looked between Monique and Ron. Monique appeared shaken while Ron was apparently trying to get a hold on the situation. "Wait, only a few weeks old? That means she's alive!"

"It's worse, actually," said Kim, holding up the letter in the envelope. She laid it down before Ron and the Kimmunicator. "She's being held hostage."

"By who!" asked Wade. "Who could possibly be hold Shego hostage?"

"It doesn't say," said Monique.

"Hostage?" asked Ron. "What do they want?"

Monique looked to Kim who grimaced. "They want me," said Kim.

"You," said Ron. "They want to trade Shego for you?"

Kim reached into the envelope and pulled out the smaller, sealed envelope and turned it over in her hands. It read, "Do not open except in the presence of Kim Possible." Kim shrugged, that was easy enough to comply with. She tore open the envelope.

"Kim!" warned Monique and flinched when a small round, flat object fell from the halves of the envelope and landed on the table. "What if that was an explosive or something?" asked Monique in a manic voice.

"You wouldn't have gotten in the front gate with it," said Kim. "Scanners at the gate register everything you come in with, especially explosives."

The object looked like a poker chip and Ron picked it up. "This side up," he read off the back of the disc. "All right," he said, placing it back on the table in the manner instructed. As soon as he did, the rim of the disc lit up and a thin rod extended up from the center of the device. At the tip of the extension was a small lens that lit up and began shining light all over the room. It lingered once on Kim, then discontinued and retracted back into the chip.

"Odd," said Kim.

The chip then lit up again and a holographic image of an elderly man sitting in a throne-like chair and holding a diamond tipped cane appeared. The face on the man was grim and creased from years of frowning and grimacing. His hair, what was left of it, was bone white and limited mostly to the sides of his head above his ears.

Kim cocked her head. "Senior Senior Senior," she concluded.

"Ah, Kim Possible," the hologram said. "I know, I know, you're married, but old habits die hard. It is so good to know that some people can be depended upon to follow instructions, though. From my business partners to my very own son, I have been plagued by people who insist on doing their own thing, much to their detriment."

"Wade," whispered Ron to the Kimmunicator. "Is this real-time?"

"No, I'm not detecting any incoming signals," said Wade. "It's probably a recording."

"As much as I would like to become lost in the pleasantries, there is business before us, and I do very much enjoy business." The hologram flickered for a moment then changed to show a model of the Earth, gently spinning. A box appeared on a section of Asia. "This is where you'll find me." The model changed to show a closer depiction of the area, showing regional lines and features. It quickly changed again to show a much closer view of a strange stone tower constructed in the mountains amongst some trees. "Here is the fortress I inhabit."

The view changed back to show Senior Senior Sr. "I can only imagine what must be going through your mind, Ms. Possible, but I assure you, I'm not giving you a choice." The hologram back to the schematic of the tower, a section of mechanics running the length of the tower and going deep underground was highlighted and then brought forward.

"This is the base generator for the Heavy Particle Emitter. A wonderfully cataclysmic device that the Syndicate constructed but never got the opportunity to use due to your clandestine operation that caused the downfall of the organization. Global Justice has searched far and wide for the missing weapons materials you traced the purchase of but, unfortunately, were unable to find this fortress and thus, it is currently under my control."

"Of course, without the targeting systems from the facility in Europe, I'm quite certain it will indiscriminately destroy areas of the planet once activated." Senior Senor Sr. appeared again.

Kim clenched her fists and stared holes into the holographic representation of her enemy.

"And just to make sure you don't do anything brash like nuke this place from orbit, I've taken the liberty of locating the wayward Ms. Shego and bringing her here to be my guest."

The image changed to show Shego bound and gagged in a dirty prison cell. She was dressed in plain clothes that looked ragged, and her hair had been cut to half its old length, but she didn't appear very bruised. She also didn't appear very conscious.

"Just so there is no confusion, I'll lay it our explicitly," said Senior Senior Senior as his visage appeared again. "You come here, by yourself, and Global Justice does not get to know anything. Not where you're going and certainly not why. I'll be reasonable and give you 72 hours from the conclusion of this message. If you come here, you will have the opportunity to liberate Ms. Shego and destroy this machine. If you do not come here, I turn on this machine and vaporize various areas of the planet. If you try to destroy this place, then you will likely succeed, but at the cost of a single innocent life."

The holographic Senior looked Kim directly in the eyes. "I hope we understand each other."

The illusion flickered then vanished, leaving the dull grey chip silently behind.

"He's finally gone insane," said Wade in awe. "Kim, whatever he says you can't..." he paused.

Kim was shaking in her chair in rage.

"Kim?" asked Monique, sliding ever so slightly away from her.

"Wade," growled Kim.

"Y-yes, Kim?" The Kimmunicator seemed to shiver.

Kim stood. "I need a ride. And the suit." Turning on her foot, she stormed out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. It was nearly thirty minutes later before anyone dared follow her.

Ultimately, Ron was the sacrificial lamb. "Dear?" he said, entering the bedroom. His wife had already donned her 'uniform', black midriff, cargo pants, gloves, boots. Despite having had a child, her dedication to her martial arts over the last three years had left her incredibly toned and fit, even sexier than when she'd last gone out like this in college. Ron set his hormones aside and walked up behind her as she was packing her brown satchel.

"I hate to say this," Ron continued, not having gotten a response. "But are you sure this is the rational thing to do?"

Kim glared at him, but he held his ground. Kim continued packing all the same. "I can't let him be out there with that thing. And he's doing this to get at me, Ron. If I don't respond, do you think it'll stop here?"

"Let GJ take care of it," said Ron. "We'll be able to sneak in and disable the device before Senior even notices we're there."

"He'll be watching you," said Kim, holstering her hairdryer. "You know as well as I do he was in deep with Syndicate, there could still be agents out there feeding him info. We can't take the chance."

"We have secret ops, places we can launch undocumented attacks," offered Ron.

"We can't risk it. He's toying with me, Ron. Just me. That means if I go and get noticed, it'll be expected, he won't go launching doomsday weapons. He'll just try and stop me or capture me, just like his good villain book says to."

"He killed his own son, Kim," Ron pointed out. Kim paused for a second. "He may have escalated his standing above cheesy Bond villain."

"We're the ones who made him have to do that," said Kim. "_I_ was the one who turned him. That's why he's after me. He wants to see my blood."

"I agree," nodded Ron. "I don't understand why you're going, though. We have many options, and it's possible his weapon doesn't even work. It could malfunction, or explode, or we could come up with a means of neutralizing it."

"What about Shego?" asked Kim.

"She didn't even look alive in that clip, Kim," added Ron. "I know you don't want to hear it but it would be easier for Senior to just kill her and use those hair clippings as bait." He sighed. "As far as anyone knows, she's been dead since the Syndicate downfall."

"Those hair clippings were fresh," said Kim.

"Cloning, or some other means of replicating her DNA."

"He wouldn't have bothered, he knows Wade would detect it if it was fake."

"Kim," started Ron, then stopped. "She's dead. Even Monique accepted it. She's even legally dead in the US so Monique could have control over her assets in the company."

Kim frowned. "We saw her, Ron," she said. "At the hospital, when Jules was born."

"She couldn't have been there," said Ron. "We have reports from her in Europe minutes before that. There's no way she could have instantly been at that hospital. It was imagined."

"We BOTH saw her, Ron," insisted Kim. "How could our minds have conjured the same mirage at the same time?"

"I don't know, but there is no other explanation. She died in the explosion at Syndicate, that's what went into the official reports and that's what we _both_ signed on at the conclusion of the mission." Ron struggled to find reason in their shared experience. "What other reason can you come up with? That we saw her spirit? Then it seems even more likely that she died."

Kim looked down. "I gave up on her by signing that form," she said. "I let her go, on paper so that she could be declared legally dead. If I was wrong to do that..."

Ron moved next to her. "You didn't have any reason to believe otherwise."

"I did," said Kim. "I just didn't act on it. This time, I have to know for sure. She gave up so much for us on that Syndicate assignment, I can't let her be destroyed by Senior Senior Senior of all people."

Ron shook his head. "What are you going to tell Jules?"

Kim looked back at him. "That I'm going to make the future better."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure a three year old will appreciate that answer."


	10. Together

10. Together

Without even so much as a sound, Kim touched down on the cold stone floor, careful to avoid the sand and crumbled stone that would alert guards to her presence. Stalking through the shadows, full active-camouflage engaged, she was barely even in the stone compound, a mere spectre as much as a presence in the compound.

Drifting between shadows, Kim made her way down the long hall filled with stone pillars until she reached the barred entryway into the chamber. Becoming still as the stone, she scanned the area with her eyes to find the best way in.

"Son of a... you really fell for it," a voice came from behind the bars. Kim narrowed her eyes to peer into the moving form in darkness but it suddenly lurched onto its feet and moved towards the front. The tall, dark haired, pale-skinned woman clutched the bars of her prison and stared directly at Kim. "Are you out of your mind? You have a family and you're still doing this crap?"

Kim blinked behind her mask. "You can... see me?"

"I don't need to see you, Princess," said Shego. "You're as loud as an elephant stampede." She glanced down the hall. "Don't worry, they check here about once ever 45 minutes, you've got some time."

Kim sighed and pulled down her face mask. "Are you okay? You look... terrible... but not dead, so an improvement over yesterday."

"Senior hasn't been feeding me very much to keep me from having the strength to break out," said Shego. "I've been rationing out some of it too for when I escape. That was under the assumption, of course, that you would never abandon your family and fly across the world to save your ex-nemesis when she could very well free herself." Shego crossed her arms. "So much for my assumption."

"Well, you know what they say about when you _ass_ume things."

"Gee, where are we, 3rd grade?" mocked Shego.

"I could very well leave you here," said Kim.

"Hah, I dare you."

Kim started to sneer at Shego then stopped and frowned.

"What happened?" asked Shego.

"I'm really glad you're alive," Kim said softly. "I always thought you were, but we never had any evidence."

"I'm sorry, Kimmie," Shego said. She leaned against the bars. "But, if this hadn't happened, I would have stayed dead."

"What do you mean?"

"I left, on purpose." Shego sighed. "I got outta Syndicate before it lit up like a roman candle, but I had no intention of coming back. After the smoke cleared I just headed east and didn't look back. Senior only picked me a month ago."

"You wanted us to think you were dead?" Kim asked, a little irritated.

"I didn't want anyone coming after me." Shego looked around at her cell. "I guess that didn't work out as planned."

"Wait, why? Why did you do that? Why did you try and fake your death?"

Shego looked into Kim's eyes. "Because I was done with that life, or at least I thought I was. If I was dead, then I wouldn't have to spend as much time looking over my shoulder at old enemies." She grumbled. "I didn't really think Senior Senior Senior wouldn't believe I was dead."

Kim shook her head. "You could have at least told me. I would have kept your secret. Instead of wondering this whole time if I sent you to your death."

Shego looked a little happy. "I guess I never thought I could trust you until now."

"Not even when you were a bridesmaid at my wedding?" Kim put her hand to her hip... not that Shego could see it.

"Well, I knew _you_ trusted _me_," shrugged Shego. Kim just rolled her eyes.

"Stand back, I'm going to open the cage."

Shego backstepped slightly as Kim produced a pen-laser from... nowhere. A few flicks of her wrist and the bars clattered to the floor. Shego strode forward, a little uneasily.

"Here," offered Kim. She had a brown rectangle wrapped in plastic.

"What's that?" Shego took it and sniffed it experimentally. "Explosives?"

"I won't comment on the taste," Kim warned. "But it's an energy bar GJ has been working on. It supposedly gets absorbed right into the bloodstream starting in the esophagus. It should help a little with your malnutrition."

Shego unwrapped the brown bar and stared at it as if it had grown a head.

"It's high in vitamin C, too," said Kim.

"Great, no scurvy for me," said Shego. Hesitatingly, she brought it up to her mouth and took a bite. She chewed for a few moments, apparently struggling, then swallowed, causing tears to form in her eyes. "Oh god that was terrible."

"Hmm," mused Kim. "Yeah, don't look at me about that one. Eat it all though."

"Are you torturing me? All of it?" Shego paled... more.

"Better eat it now and have energy later, than be caught in a battle and collapse."

Solemnly, Shego bit it the bar again.

Several excruciatingly long bites later and the bar was gone. Kim patted Shego on the back. "Good job!"

"Don't do that," Shego said simply. "I might vomit."

"No time for dramatics, we need to disable that weapon."

"I hope we pass a bathroom on the way," commented Shego. "I'm feeling sick."

Kim pulled her mask back over her head, vanishing from sight, just as the floor suddenly began shaking violently. Kim put a hand to the pillar beside her to steady herself and Shego widened her stance. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stilled.

"What was that?" asked Kim, afraid of the answer.

"I hope that wasn't--"

A deafening sound like the screech from twisting metal rung out and both Kim and Shego clutched their ears to protect them from the pain.

"How do we get to the weapon?" yelled Kim, leaning closer to Shego. The once thief had a strained look on her face as she desperately held her hands against her ears.

"The whole place is the weapon!" yelled Shego in reply. "We're standing inside of it!"

"What?" asked Kim. "How is that possible?"

"The weapon is huge and relies on a subterranean reactor resting on a thermal vent. This whole building is a giant capacitor!"

"How the heck do we destroy it then?"

Shego stared at Kim with wide eyes, then ran off. Kim silently stalked behind her, keeping pace with the emaciated prisoner. The long dark shadows of the large hallways made it easy for Kim to maximize her stealthy dash, but every time Shego turned to talk to her she seemed to know exactly where she was.

"You got any GJ toys or explosives in that suit of yours?" Shego asked. The screeching noise had stopped leaving only a gentle rumbling behind so she didn't need to yell.

"Nothing GJ, just some Wade gadgets," answered Kim. "Seriously, how are you able to tell where I am?"

"Is this really the time, Princess?"

"It looks like we're about to end up a bit more dead, so, there may not be another time." Kim leapt to the other side of Shego to stay in the shadows as they ran past a doorway. Shego turned her head immediately to face Kim, running past the doorway without concern.

"See? How did you know I moved?"

Shego shook her head. "I can feel you."

"Feel me?" Kim asked. "You can... feel when I'm near?"

"Your suit is giving off some kind of radiation," added Shego, stumbling slightly over some rubble. She faced forward again. "I can feel it on my skin."

"You can sense some forms of radiation?"

"Apparently," said Shego. "It's something I've been noticing recently. I guess it's a sympathetic force caused by the energy I generate. I can feel the reactor beneath us, and the walls slowly building a charge. I'm hoping that the other thing I'm feeling is the core of the weapon." She slowed as they came to a junction with another hallway then turned right and sped up again. "This way."

"Can we get it to self destruct?" asked Kim.

"Well, Drakken built it so... chances are there's a way."

The two dashed around another corner but Shego lost her footing and slipped, hitting the ground hard. Kim immediately turned back to help her up.

"Agh," groaned Shego, rubbing her hip. A cut on her forehead bled slowly down her temple.

"Jeeze, Shego," said Kim, pulling a square pad from her suit, causing it to appear suddenly. She slipped it gently onto the wound. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," she waved Kim off. "Just a little weaker than I thought. I'll be alright." She rubbed her forehead and started to stand. She got onto one foot before teetering to the side. Kim grabbed her gently and helped up the rest of the way.

"Fine, huh?"

"We don't have time for this," said Shego. "Just keep going down this hall, I'll catch up."

"Not happening," said Kim, pulling down her mask. "Put your arm over my shoulder."

Shego pushed her away instead, staggering momentarily then regaining her balance. "Get going you fool! I can feel the weapon building power. When this capacitor reaches its limit we'll already be dead!"

"I came here to save you, I'm not leaving you behind," said Kim. She closed her eyes. "Ron is probably at GJ right now monitoring this place. He's ready to bomb this place before the weapon has a chance to fire."

"You idiot! Like Ron would ever knowingly kill you, even to save the world!"

Kim opened her eyes and leveled them at Shego. "He would to save Julie though."

"Julie?" asked Shego, puzzled.

"Our daughter."

Shego blinked. "You had a girl," she said, momentarily forgetting her anger. "Julie," she repeated. "Born on the day of that..."

Kim nodded.

"Is she..." Shego started to ask, then stopped, looking away.

"She's beautiful," said Kim. "She deserves a more beautiful world than this one to grow up in."

"Hah," chided Shego. "You have some seriously screwed up priorities." She began walking down the hallway.

"Like you're one to judge," said Kim.

"You don't know what I've been doing these past two years. You might be impressed." Shego began jogging again.

"You can tell me all about it when we get out of here."

Shego nodded silently and said nothing until they reached the end of the hallway and entered the large circular atrium in the center of the tower.

"Holy..." Kim said.

The atrium was more than ten stories tall and largely hollowed to allow a huge metal construct to run the height of the tower before diving into the dark shadows below. Half of the machine in the center of the room had been built into the floor but the other half was exposed to a wide crevasse that was slowly emitting smoke and noxious fumes into the chamber. A series of valves, handles, and cranks were exposed on the machine where it was attached to the ground, and in front of those regulators stood an elderly hunched man with a diamond tipped cane. His forehead had deep creases in it and his furrowed brow pointed angrily at the two women.

"Ah, Kim," said Senior Senior Senior, moving little more than his mouth when speaking. "I see you found your friend."

"Turn it off, Senior," snarled Shego before Kim could answer. "This is madness."

"Ms. Shego, you worked for many years under the guidance of Drakken," the elderly man said. "Yet here you are, friends with the enemy. Weren't you taught better?"

"Dr. D didn't teach me anything except how to utterly fall apart at the seams while in prison." Shego made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "I wasn't really interested in that lesson. Although apparently _you_ picked up a few of his ticks."

"There comes a time when you realize the things you do matter less to yourself and more to the world you leave behind," explained Senior. "Your opinion of my sanity is irrelevant compared to what I'm doing."

"What _are_ you doing?" asked Kim, exasperated. "You're not making the world a better place, or even making yourself more powerful, you're just planning on laughing while Rome burns!"

"Yes, but Nero was remembered for millennia," Senior pointed out.

"That's it?" Shego put her hand to her hip. "All this to be remembered?"

"Not at all." Senior shook his head. "This is justice."

Kim blinked. Shego took the bait. "Justice?"

"You took what was mine, Kim," said Senior. "You took something precious to me, beyond value, and corrupted it. You destroyed it from within with your vicious poison then turned it back on me to watch me suffer."

Kim's eyes were wide.

"You forced your world on mine with contempt, waving the flag of virtue and righteousness while you stole away the only thing that ever mattered to me." Senior grimaced. "_That_ is injustice. And I have borne the sadness of my loss to visit proper punishment upon you."

Senior rose his hand and motioned around him. "This is your punishment, Kim. A problem with no answer."

Kim swallowed. "Senior... I never did anything to Junior that you--"

"Please, Kim, it is too late for any of that." Senior turned and looked up at the large metal spire running up into the distant ceiling. "This weapon has already begun to charge and it must fire or release its stored energy. If it fires, then some part of the world and its residents will be vaporized. If it does not fire, the stored energy will overload or be released and kill everyone in this facility. You no longer have enough time to escape."

"You don't either," said Kim.

Senior put on a grim smile. "Do you really think I care?" Then he frowned. "What's up with her?"

Kim looked to see Shego scowling, her eyes shut, fists at her side, and visibly shaking in rage. Also, she appeared to be glowing.

"Shego?" asked Kim.

The green woman opened her eyes and looked down at herself. "I'm not..." she trailed off, staring up at the machine. "No, I do know. I'm absorbing some of the energy this thing is giving off. It feels..."

Kim shook her head and pulled out her communicator, noticing her hand was visible when she brought it up to her face she paused and turned her arm to look at her wrist. A thin line about three inches long was colored entirely red. "Not good..." she said, sing-song. "Wade?"

"H---achhh... Kii--ssshhm," the Kimmunicator sputtered, showing static on the small screen. "Ik... kish... fir...terference fr-"

"So much for that," Kim said, pocketing the small blue device.

"Kim."

She looked up at Shego, who was looking over her shoulder at Kim. "Kimmunicator is being jammed or something," Kim explained. "You're glowing more now, do you feel alright?"

Shego nodded. "It feels... not bad," she said with a smirk. "We have to destroy the machine."

"Yes," nodded Kim. "If there's no escape, that's the only choice."

"You will destroy yourselves," commented Senior, reminding the two of his presence. "And leave your families alone."

"Sorry, S-3," said Shego, turning back. "But there's nothing agonizing about this decision. Between ourselves or the people we love." She smiled. "We're meaningless."

"Then I shall make your decision worthless," he said, picking up his cane and swinging it around on the machine. He struck a lever which twisted then broke off, flying away into the deep chasm. The machine lurched and began shaking, crackling with energy. Deep within the ground something sounded like a deep growl and the machine began to rise, ascending toward a small porthole in the ceiling in the large atrium.

Shego suddenly clutched her stomach and buckled. The aura of green light she was emitted grew even brighter, causing Kim to shield her eyes from the glare. "It's going to fire!" she said through gritted teeth.

Kim resolved herself and started to run toward the device. Each step, further sealing her fate.

Then Shego grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Shego! Let go! There's no time!"

Shego looked at her. Her eyes had turned into glowing motes of light, no longer showing her iris and pupils. It was eerie.

"Can you remember something?" she said.

"Shego!" yelled Kim.

"Can you remember?" Shego yelled back. Kim stared at her in confusion but nodded. "Remember this." She recited six numbers to her, then repeated them. "Can you remember that?"

"Yeah," said Kim.

"Good," nodded Shego. "Take care of them for me," she said glancing once over at the machine. Senior was apparently trying to dance before the machine but it looked more like hobbling. "Even him. Please."

"Him who?" said Kim. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll know when you get there." She put her hand against Kim's chest. "Try not to be a jerk about it."

"What?" boggled Kim.

Shego's glow suddenly surged brighter and Kim felt the heat before the impact that flung her nearly across the room and she slid the rest of the way until she hit the opposite wall. The wind knocked out of her, she gasped for breath as her vision darkened. Desperately trying to force air into her lunch she could feel the rumbling become more violent and the force of the air blowing against her. Her vision swirled as she tried to force air back into her lungs. She could see lights dancing in the distance but her eyes refused to focus just as the ringing in her ears refused to cease.

Suddenly, it all sharpened at once as the first breath of life-giving air reached her lungs, burning as it flooded down her throat. The ringing ceased as the darkness in Kim's vision fled and she could see the curtain of multicolored light before her. Spreading out like a flower from a single green, glowing spot. The lights danced and played along the green spot, surging and ebbing as the powerful colors charred the walls and floor around the atrium save for a single, pie shaped area starting from the green spot and extending to either side of Kim and the prone form of Senior Senior Senior lying fifty feet in front of her.

Kim opened her mouth to cry out but couldn't find her voice. Immediately afterwards the lights vanished and the glowing green form at their center flicked then died. Kim stared as the still, smoking body that was once glowing bright green, fell to its knees and then toppled over.

"SHEGO!" screamed Kim, pushing herself to her feet, ignoring the cries of her aching muscles. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but each step seemed like eternity. As her steps carried her past Senior she could see the elderly man stirring, searching for a cane that wasn't there. Kim silently cursed him but kept moving forward.

After what seemed like a millennia, Kim finally reached Shego and fell to her knees before her. Shego's skin was steaming and Kim could feel the heat against her face as she bent down to grab the woman's shoulders.

She flinched when the simple touch started to burn her palms but ignored the pain. "Shego?" she said, gently shaking the once thief.

A loud howl suddenly rung out and Kim nearly went deaf from the sharp noise. Kim looked to see the machine, once a tall spire, now largely melted and tipping towards the crevasse. The metal in the tower screamed as it wrenched and twisted before suddenly snapping free and falling into the deep abyss. The sounds of it banging against the stone walls as it fell lasted for nearly a minute before becoming too distant to make out.

"Shego?" said Kim as she started shaking the woman more roughly. "Shego? Wake up!" She let go of her shoulder and bent down to put her ear against Shego's lips, listening for breath.

There was none.

"No, dammit," cried Kim as she felt for a pulse, then, finding none, started to do CPR. "Come on, don't do this!"

Kim pushed desperately against Shego's chest in regular beats then forced air into her lungs and started again.

"I came all the way out here for you!" yelled Kim as tears fell from her eyes.

She blew air back into lungs again, then returned to the compressions.

"I'm the hero you ... you... stupid, unethical... stupid thief!"

Air again, then compressions.

"I'm the one who sacrifices herself to save people, not YOU!"

Kim checked for a pulse again. Nothing.

"No no no nononononono..."

More air, more compressions.

"You idiot! If you die what was the point of me coming out here?"

Shego's face was streaked with tears as they fell from Kim's eyes.

"You were supposed to meet my daughter," Kim sobbed, trying to continue the compressions but unable to concentrate. "You would have loved her." Kim bent down to force air into Shego's lungs again but could catch her own breath between her sobs. "She... she's actually nothing like me. You would have... loved her..."

Shaking, Kim stared at Shego's motionless form. The steam had faded and her face looked serene. She couldn't hold back anymore.

She opened her mouth and bawled.

"You jerk!" she whimpered. "I can't even pretend you might be alive this way."


	11. Peace

11. Peace

"Director?"

Kim Stoppable looked up from the pile of paperwork on her large desk and saw the familiar face of Will Du, standing in her doorway. He looked apprehensive, but Kim smiled warmly in return.

"Will," she said. "I'm glad to see you're still here."

"Couldn't really leave," said Du, stepping into the office and sitting in the leather chair in front of Kim's desk. "There isn't really much above being an upper agent in the largest espionage agency in the world."

"Ah, but who can really say we're the largest?" asked Kim, putting her pen down. "We ARE an espionage agency, there aren't really accurate statistics on how big we are, and how many other agencies are really going to come forward to challenge us?"

Will raised and eyebrow and nodded. "An excellent point. I stand corrected. Or sit, as the case may be."

"Actually, I think you're right." Kim picked up the page she was working on and tossed it onto the taller stack of papers on her desk. "But it's important to have humility. If we go around claiming to be the best, someone will just rise up to try and prove us wrong."

"I believe someone did," pointed out Will. "Through no fault of our own, of course."

"Thankfully it seems we purged the remains of Syndicate finally." Kim looked sadly to the side. "Senior Senior Senior was a surprise, though, so I guess we can never drop our guard."

"At least we got something positive out of it." Will started to stand again.

"What's that?" asked Kim.

"You came back to us."

Kim blinked, then smiled, slightly embarrassed. "I appreciate the sentiment. But I'm not here to stay. I'll only be here long enough to choose and train a proper successor."

"Never use absolutes," Will raised his finger. "They're so often proven wrong."

"I know I didn't tell you that."

"Then perhaps you should listen," smiled Will. "I came in to tell you we're almost ready to go to the proceedings."

Kim nodded. "Second time now, I hope we get it right."

"There's little we could do to live up to what she did for us," said Will. "But also little we could do to tarnish her reputation."

"Now that I completely agree with." Kim stood, and sighed at her desk. "I can't believe how much paperwork a little vacation generated." She walked around the edge of the large oak desk and came up to Will.

"Three and a half years is not a 'little' vacation."

"Picky picky," laughed Kim as she walked past the agent and descended the stairs from her office.

In the 'pit', the command center of GJ US, two rows of agents were lined up in dress uniforms, matching the one Will was wearing. Kim's black dress and jacket were not standard issue, which was one way of her reminding everyone she wasn't coming back for good. It was also a 'Monique' dress, which she was told Shego designed, so she felt it was appropriate given the event they were attending.

As Kim and Will walked between the agents, they filed behind them in two rows, silently marching to an unheard beat. They continued their formation even onto the plane, and all the way from the airport to the cemetery, only breaking line when they got into a half dozen cars to drive part of the distance.

The large open cemetery was silent and a cool breeze blew across the plots as the GJ contingent of guests met up with the large crowd already gathered. The skies were partly clouded and dull, but no rain was in the forecast to complete the cliché.

Monique was at the front of the group, standing beside an ornate urn which stood on an ebony pedestal. She smiled once at Kim then turned to address the crowd now that all had arrived.

"Dearly beloved," she began. "We are gathered here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And although we have stood here before and spoken these words, they are no less profound now, than they were two years ago. In fact, knowing how our friend gave herself not once, but twice for the safety of our lives only makes this ceremony more appropriate. In our chaotic lives, there is little we can truly control save for one thing: whether we are good or evil. And while our friend wavered many times in her life, when it counted, when lives were at stake, Shego was a good person."

Kim listened as Monique recounted moments in Shego's life, her joys and sadness, and allowed every person to feel, just for a second, the sorrow in her heart, and the joy of seeing a friend off towards the next adventure. When the time came to speak, Kim accepted, and she did her own deluge of memories, some people had known and heard before, and some that were new, hidden, personal. Kim had once felt these moments should have been locked up and treasured personally but now, standing before so many people who would come and cry for someone being buried a second time, she knew the memories could only be truly treasured when shared.

The rest of the funeral was brief, but others came to speak their peace. As each moment was explained, Kim felt a piece of someone she'd come to call friend come alive and thrive, and a bit of the heavy anchors she'd hung on her heart since going to Senior's citadel were lifted. In many ways, Shego had been lost to these people for many years now. Seeing her again, alive, was a gift that Kim got, not a punishment. It was a concept that she was only now beginning to understand. One concept, in fact, of many she was gradually coming to grasp.

After the funeral, the crowd went to a local restaurant to dine, although many departed immediately afterwards. As the day wore on, people left at a steady pace until only the core remained, the people who knew her best. Their talk was peppered my comments about the departed, but mostly about the future.

"I heard Will say you're back in the office," said Monique, nodding to Kim.

Kim had been holding her daughter Julie, who Ron had brought with him apart from the GJ entourage. The young girl had fallen asleep during the long talks and lengthy meals leaving Kim to gently cradle her on her lap. Kim spoke softly so as not to wake the sleeping princess. "Just for a short while," Kim nodded. "I've left the in the dark for so long, I'm surprised they still want me to stay."

"You're not going to though," asked Wade, sitting on the opposite side of the round table beside Zita and Felix. Florence, Felix's wife, had gotten stuck with work and was at home with their children. Wade's own significant other was back in Middletown, having not ever met Shego. Zita, perpetually, was single, but didn't ever seem to care.

"No," Kim shook her head. "I'd like to get into something else now. Something... well, less cut and dry."

"GJ is cut and dry?" asked Ron with a smile. Kim poked him playfully.

"Back to the hero business?" said Wade, excited.

"No," Kim said. "I'm thinking about... politics."

Monique blinked while Wade coughed. "What?"

"That's great, Kim," said Felix, smiling. "Better than fixing the symptoms, right?"

Kim nodded. "That's exactly right."

"At least you already live in a fortress," said Zita, neutral. "No worries about political activists storming your door."

"Actually," said Ron. "We're trying to find a place outside of the GJ community. Somewhere closer to the city around Middleton. Julie is going to start school in a little over a year and ... well..." Ron blushed and couldn't finish the sentence.

"You want her to go to Middleton schools," said Felix.

"Yeah," admitted Ron.

"That's cute," said Monique. "It was a pretty good school."

"It had its moments," said Kim, laughing.

"Not the least of which were because you went there," said Wade, smiling. "Not that I would know personally."

"I still can't believe it when I see you in person," said Kim. "It's surreal."

"My girlfriend says the same thing," mumbled Wade.

Everyone laughed and they shared more memories of high school together until the time had stretched far into the night and even the core group had to say their goodbyes. Felix was flying home, and didn't specifically say by jet or by wheelchair but still left just before midnight. Monique left an hour later leaving just Wade and Zita with Kim, Ron, and Julie.

"We better get going," said Kim as she and Ron stood. "Little Julie is going to be a nightmare in the morning unless we get her into bed soon. Are you two going to be okay getting back?"

"I've got a hotel in the area," said Zita. "I'll probably stay a few days while I'm here."

"I... can't really say, but trust me, I'll be fine."

"You can't say?" puzzled Kim.

"It's proprietary," shrugged Wade. "I can't talk about it during testing, but you'll probably be contacted when we finally go pubic."

"Me, or the Director of GJ?" asked Kim.

"Well, probably both, if they aren't the same at that time."

"Hah," laughed Kim. She gently handed Julie off to Ron and the two waved goodbye as they departed. Once outside, Kim gently kissed Julie's forehead and then more romantically kissed Ron.

"Are you coming with us to the hotel or do you have more Director business?" asked Ron, putting their daughter into the rental car.

"Actually, I have someplace else I have to go, I'll probably be gone for most of tomorrow as well."

Ron frowned. "What's going on?"

Kim tug into her purse and pulled out a slightly crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to Ron who flattened it and read.

"I don't get it," said Ron. "Six numbers?"

"Coordinates," said Kim. "Longitude and Latitude, with precision down to the second. Shego recited them to me before..." she trailed off.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"I'm not sure, but I couldn't figure out what they were until I showed them to Wade earlier today." Kim gently took back the paper and dropped it into her purse. "Shego said, 'Take care of them,' but didn't specify who they were."

"Seems fishy," said Ron. "Are you taking GJ with you?"

"A few agents," nodded Kim. "No more than my usual entourage now that I'm Director again. I don't think I have anything to worry about, this is Shego after all."

"I guess you're right." Ron hugged his wife. "Don't be back too late, tomorrow, or Julie won't go to bed."

Kim laughed. "I'll remember."

Ron smiled and got into the car and drove off. A black car pulled up immediately afterwards and Kim got in nodding to the driver, a GJ agent from the local office. With a nod, he was off to the west cost GJ office where a plane would be waiting for her to take her to whatever Shego wanted her to see just before she died.

Kim hoped it wasn't something stupid, but Shego's sick sense of humor didn't rule it out.


	12. Left Behind

12.

The distant sun hung low in the sky as the helicopter flew swiftly across the sandy plains. Inside its steel belly, six figures were tightly packed, staring down at the ground as it swept past. One of the six glanced frequently at a large color panel showing their position on a colorful map. He looked to the woman with short red hair sitting beside him.

"We'll be in the area in another sixteen miles, Director," Agent Du said.

"How big of an area is it?" asked Kim, looking at the screen.

Du tapped the destination icon on the map and expanded it. "With the coordinates provided, we can narrow it down to about 800 square yards of space."

"Yikes," frowned Kim. "That's a big area to search."

"Satellite information forwarded to us by HQ seems to indicate there's a village there."

"A village? Do you think someone knows something there?"

Will Du shrugged. "Do you have any idea what the coordinates are meant to represent?" Kim shook her head. "Then we have little else to go on."

Kim leaned against the door and tried to look ahead on their path. She could barely make out something in the distance.

She stiffened suddenly then put her hand to her headset and yelled into her microphone. "Benny! Take us down now!"

"Aye, Director," said the pilot over the radio and slowed down to land the vehicle.

"What's going on?" asked Will, as he folded his tablet and slipped it into his side pouch.

"These are thatched roof villages," said Kim as the copter set down on the dusty ground. "We fly in close we could blow the whole settlement away."

Will nodded and pulled open the door, letting Kim and the four agents they brought with them file out. Once onto the ground Kim waved to the pilot who cut his engine and slowly allowed the spinning propeller to come to a stop. The agents all tossed their headsets back into the cockpit.

Kim tossed her bag onto her back and they walked towards the village with Will pointing the way. Kim looked around and frowned. She was in awe of the dichotomy of the continent they were on. Some parts of Africa were covered in jungle while others were just endless miles of dry savanna. She supposed that it was the same in the Americas, but the ever expanding sprawl of cities has somewhat diminished the impact of hundreds of acres of untamed landscape.

After several minutes of walking, the group made to the village. It was nothing they had expected.

The thatched houses and grass huts were there, but they stood alongside more modern construction that was built to last. The materials were not too dissimilar, more use of wood from the distant forests marked the newer houses, but the expertise used to construct the residences was readily apparent and of western influence.

As the team was standing awkwardly at the edge of the village of about 40 huts, a young girl with long dark hair and a very tanned complexion ran up to the GJ team.

"Who are you?" asked the girl in perfect English.

Kim looked to Will and then back at the girl. "My name's Kim," she said. "What's your name?"

"Kekue," said the girl. She tilted her head slightly. "Are you auntie Possible?"

Kim frowned. "Yes, I am. How do you know about me?"

The girl smiled and shuffled awkwardly for a few moments. "Mama said you were going to come," Kekue said. "Mama said you will want to meet her."

Kim shrugged. "Sure, I'll meet your Mama." She smiled pleasantly down at the girl who turned and started scampering off. Kim was startled then started walking after her. "Will, come with me. The rest of you look around, but be respectful, please?"

Will took up position slightly behind and to the right of Kim while the other four agents dispersed into the village. Will looked over his shoulder at the tanned locals staring at them and leaned in close to Kim.

"I'm finding this all a little strange," he admitted. "Do you think these people have clues to what Shego hid here?"

Kim shook her head. "I don't think what we're looking for is buried." Kim saw their 'guide' wave them over to a well made hut. "No, I think what Shego brought us here for is already visible to us."

"What?" asked Will, but Kim didn't answer.

At the hut, Kim and Will ducked beneath the canvas door and saw a woman weaving clothes inside. The little girl Kekue was standing beside her, hanging onto her shirt with one hand for safety. The older woman looked and stood, respectfully.

"My name is Orona," said the woman with a nod. Again, she spoke English but slightly more muddled than her daughter. "I guess you are Kim Possible?"

Kim nodded and held out her hand. "It's Stoppable, these days actually, but pleased to meet you. This here is Agent Will Du."

The woman shook Kim's hand then Will's, the latter expressing thanks.

"So how do you know about us?"

The woman nodded slowly and continued weaving as she spoke. "Shi-Shi told us all you would come," said the woman simply. "She knew she couldn't be hidden forever." She picked up a green spool and introduced it into her pattern. "So, what happened to Shi-Shi?"

Kim looked down.

"I see," said Orona, softly. She increased her pace. "She also suspected that would happen."

"Awfully self-reflective for Shego," commented Will. "I don't suppose she tearfully poured out her every secret to you as well."

"Will!" snapped Kim.

"Quite the opposite, actually," continued Orona. "She never talked about yesterday. Came here nearly dead but wouldn't say how." Her thread ran out and she picked up a dark blue one. "She asked to stay for a while, and when the dust storms ruined the sunward homes, she stepped in to build them new. And when Madia passed away, leaving Cessili alone, she became her mother."

"She adopted a child here?" asked Kim.

"She became caretaker to young Cessili. But it was Cessili that the hunched elder used to force her to go with him." The older woman shook her head. "Poor Shi-Shi went without a word. Thankfully, he released the girl."

Kim was silent, staring at the long blanket being swiftly woven before her eyes. Will cleared his throat and addressed Orona again. "She didn't leave anything here for us, did she?" he asked. "Something for us to find once she had ... passed away."

"She had nothing with her when she first came," started Orona. "But she not leave anyone to care for Cessili and the mad one."

Kim looked up. "The mad one?" she asked. "Who's that?"

The older woman smiled and slowly slid off her seat. She waved expectantly and left the hut. Kim and Will followed quietly.

When they were standing outside again one of the other GJ agents came up to them. "Director, Agent, we found a house with some of the equipment Shego took on her mission to the Syndicate. A transceiver and part of her Tact Under-Armour."

Will nodded. "Collect whatever you can that we gave her."

"Sir," said the agent before turning and heading back in the direction he came.

"I'm getting a sinking feeling the longer we're here," said Kim as she and Will followed Orona through the village. There were probably just shy of a hundred people in the area, mostly children, but many adults as well who looked at the intruders with equal parts fear and wonder.

"She couldn't possibly have wanted us to take care of all these people," said Will flatly. "The humanitarian ability of GJ does not extend to providing for villages of Africans. We'd be better off calling in the Red Cross."

"She'd know that," said Kim. "It's probably why she made it her last request."

"Last request or not," countered Will. "We can just pick and choose needy people to provide for, it wouldn't be fair. We could fly ten miles in either direction from here and probably find another village of people who might need our help surviving the winter, why would we not help them? What makes these people special? Just because Shego was here for a while?"

"There's nothing special about these people," said Kim softly. "That's the whole point, I think."

"We can't care for everyone." Will shook his head. "And if we try, we're opening ourselves up to trouble."

"I'm sorry," Orona suddenly said, turning to face her followers. "I couldn't stop from listening, but I think your argument should include at least one of my people."

"What do you mean?" asked Kim.

"I understand your need to show you loved Shi-Shi, but you must understand, she came to us as a stranger, and became a member of our family. She was not our savior. She was here to help when we had our troubles, just as all of our family was. We loved her dearly, but we are not lost without her."

Kim bit her lip and apologized. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to force anything on you."

"We always need strong arms when the storms come," said Orona, turning back and starting to walk again. "But we don't need caretakers."

Kim and Will watched her walk for a second before moving to catch up. "I'm starting to see why Shego liked you guys," said Kim with a smile.

The three approached a house set slightly apart from the others in the village and definitely constructed after Shego arrived. It was made of long wood boards and had clean cuts where Kim could imagine Shego's power coming in handy. The framing was sturdy and Kim could see Orona struggle slightly to pull open the only full door in the village. With a wave, Orona stepped into the house.

When Kim followed her inside, her eyes locked on the last thing she ever expected to see. Will was already reaching for his weapon by the time Kim had a moment to blink. He had pushed her to the side a second later, clearing her of the doorway and pointed his gun at the frail, pale blue skinned man tinkering in the corner of the small room.

Will kept his gun leveled and ready as he spared a glance towards Orona. "What is he doing here?" he demanded.

Kim peeked around Will to see the once infamous Syndicate leader shivering in a corner. Orona nodded towards the 'doctor' and answered Will. "He was brought her by Shi-Shi, not long after she came to us. You don't need to be scared, he's harmless."

"He's the most wanted criminal in the world," said Will, the edge on his voice readily apparent. "He's not 'harmless.'"

"Whoever you think he is," said Orona. "Shi-Shi assured us this man could do no harm."

"I'm not mistaken," continued Will. "Blue skin, scar on his face, there's no questioning it. That is Drew Lipsky."

Kim stepped out from behind Will, causing him to nervously try to stand between her and Drakken, but she gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Will, put that down."

"Director--"

"Will, look at him," Kim insisted, and pointed.

Will's eyes followed hers and he stared at the blue man in the corner. He was trembling slightly and had a piece of long rope and some misshapen wooden blocks in his hands. He was trying to fit them together in some manner but apparently failing. Once in a while he would drop one of the pieces and feel around randomly until finding it again.

"What's... wrong with him?" asked Will to nobody in particular.

"His mind's a child's," said Orona. "He has been that way since Shi-Shi brought him here. His eyes have been fading as well. She said he was injured, but was once an important person to her and asked to be able to take care of him here. She built this house for him."

"Why all the security if he's harmless, then?" asked Kim, looking at the heavy door. "None of your other buildings are built like this."

"He wanted it that way." The elder woman motioned towards Drew. "He seems to like dark, small places."

Kim frowned and started walking towards the frail, blue man. Will motioned to stop her but she dismissed his warning. Kneeling down beside Drew, she spoke softly. "Hi. What are you doing there?"

"Building..." said Drew, shyly.

"What are you building?"

"A person."

"A person? Out of wood?"

"Uh-huh. She'll move around like a person and play with me. Until Shi-Shi comes back."

Kim looked down and sighed.

"The kids are somewhat scared of him," offered Orona. "Only Shi-Shi would be with him on most days."

"I think Shi-Shi is going to be gone for a long time," said Kim. She patted him reassuringly on the back and he froze up like a frightened animal. "It's okay. You know, I'm sure I can find some other people to play with you."

"Director..." warned Will.

"Really?" asked Drew, looking up slightly. He still faced away from Kim but he wasn't shivering. "Are they fun?"

Kim nodded slowly. "Yeah, they're fun."

Will shook his head as Kim stood and headed for the entrance. Orona followed her out and the three stood under the sun again.

"This is not your responsibility," said Will.

"Yes, it is," said Kim. "In more ways than one. He needs to be brought back to GJ in the very least to confirm that he's... really this way. After that we can set him up in one of our monitored facilities."

"He murdered hundreds--"

"No," Kim shook her head. "Dr. Drakken did. Syndicate did. He's neither of those things anymore. We'll watch him to make sure he doesn't regress, but otherwise he's should be in the proper care."

"Easy for you to say," said Will, folding his arms. "You're leaving."

"Cheer up," Kim patted him on his shoulder. "I'm thinking about naming you as my replacement."

Will froze and looked at Kim, shocked. "I--"

"Orona," Kim immediately turned her attention to the woman. "Is it okay if we take him off your hands? I'm pretty certain Drew is the 'Him' Shego asked me to care for."

"Yes," replied the woman. "He has nobody else now."

"What about the girl? You mentioned a Cessili that Shego had adopted. Will she be taken care of?"

Orona nodded. "We can care for her, although she may wish to meet you."

"Me?" said Kim, surprised. "Does she know about me?"

"Shi-Shi spoke often of the great adventures of the Kim Possible. The tales were always popular with the children as well as many of our adults. Cessili in particular took great joy from them and I think Shi-Shi told her more about you than the others."

"Shego told favorable stories about Kim?" asked Will, incredulously.

"The legend of the Kim Possible is a great hero's tale," said Orona.

Kim blanched. "Given that, I'm not sure I can live up to the hype. It's probably better we disrupt your life as little as possible."

"The young one will be disappointed."

Kim sighed. "Will, can you get the team together and see about moving Drak-- er, Drew to the helicopter. We'll head back to the US on the next flight out. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."

"I'll leave Landry behind," nodded Will.

"That's not necessary, I'll only be a minute."

"I'm still leaving him behind." Will turned towards where they last saw the agents.

"You're not Director yet," called Kim after him. "You can't rescind my orders."

"You'll have to cite me then," called Will over his shoulder.

Kim smiled and looked back to Orona. "Can you bring me to her? Cessili."

"Of course."

Once again Kim followed her through the village, this time noticing the stares and quiet whispers between friends as they looked at her. She wondered if they figured who she was, if somehow Shego had told them strange tales about her. Orona had never actually agreed that the stories were favorable.

The small hut that Orona brought her to featured some of the same straight cuts and polish Drew's house had, another sign of Shego's influence. The animal hide over the doorway had a green mark on it that Kim didn't recognize but figured was how people knew Shego's place from the rest. Or maybe how Shego figured out her place from everyone else's.

Orona pushed aside the pelt and Kim stepped inside. A young girl, probably just a little older than Julie, sat inside, holding a scrap of green and black cloth, staring at it solemnly. Kim noticed an agent standing just inside the doorway and she frowned. "Landry?" she asked.

"She was holding onto some of Shego's things and wouldn't give them up," the agent said motioning to a few electronic trinkets lying at the girl's feet.

"You didn't--"

"I asked politely for them back but nothing more," he quickly replied. "But..."

"But what?" frowned Kim.

"She asked why I wanted them and I ... may have indicated that Shego was dead."

Kim put her hands to her face.

"She looked so depressed I didn't want to leave her alone," said Landry softly. "So I've... been standing here."

Kim dropped her hands and nodded. "Wait outside for me, please."

"Sir," nodded the agent and silently exited.

Kim walked over to the girl and sat nearby to her. The girl didn't even move.

"Are you Cessili?" asked Kim, but received silence. "My name is Kim. I was close to Shi-Shi."

The girl turned slightly, spying Kim out of the corner of her eye, but continued with silence.

"I'm sorry you had to find out something so sad this way," continued Kim. "It's always painful to hear about things like this. When I heard about it, I was so sad I cried for a long time. It's okay to cry, you know, when it hurts like that."

Cessili swallowed, and looked back at the fabric in her hands. Kim recognized it as a piece of one of Shego's old jumpsuits. She must have had it after the Syndicate explosion.

"I heard that Shi-Shi told some stories about me. Did you ever hear them?"

The girl nodded.

"I hope they were good stories," said Kim. "I never knew she was a storyteller. I'm sorry I never got to hear them." Kim moved slightly to be more in Cessili's field of vision. "Hey, you know what I'd like to hear?"

Kim smiled slightly and tried to catch her eyes. "I'd to hear a story about you." Cessili's eyes widened slightly. "That's right, I want to know more about you."

"Why?" asked the little girl. Her voice seemed strained, but still melodic.

"Because of all the things I've faced in my life," said Kim. "I've never known anyone able to get Shi-Shi to love someone the way it looked like she loved you. And that's something truly amazing in my book."

The girl frowned and her lip trembled.

"How about it? You tell me some of your amazing stories and I'll you some good stories I know about Shi-Shi?" Kim carefully reached out her hand and stroked Cessili's hair. "Do you think you'd like that?"

The girl sniffled several times before bursting out crying. Kim inched in closer and wrapped her arms around the small girl, who immediate clutched Kim's shirt for dear life, burying her face in the rough fabric.

Kim stroked the girl's hair and whispered comforting words to her. She looked up to Orona with an expecting look. The elder woman just shook her head. Kim sighed.

The young Cessili continued to cry until her tiny frame slumped from exhaustion.

"Would you--" Kim started to say but hesitated. She felt crazy for even thinking it, but as she stared at the gasping form in her arms, she wanted to do something -- anything to ease the girl's pain.

Kim swallowed and started again.

"Would you like to come with me?"

---

End

(Continued in 'Full Of Grace')


End file.
